My mom, my sister and I spent the day together to celebrate my mom's 86th birthday. We looked at old photos, toured my sister's garden and admired her preserves, went out for lunch, popped into a few stores, and enjoyed afternoon coffee and tea at a café. It was lovely to have an entire day to chat about everything and nothing, to feel no pressure to do anything at a certain time or to be anywhere in particular, and to appreciate being healthy and in the company of people we love.

Towards the end of the day, after dropping my sister off at her place, my mom and I stopped at a store to pick up a few items. When we left the store, I saw two small grey cars in the parking lot. I was driving a rental because our car is in the shop, so I wasn't very familiar with the vehicle. I proceeded to the driver side of one of the two cars only to find a man in the driver's seat, looking thoroughly confused by my sudden appearance at his door, as though I owned the thing. I mouthed my apologies through the window. Meanwhile, my mom had continued to the other side of the car and actually opened the man's passenger door. Imagine her surprise when she saw a dude where she expected to see her daughter. I could barely contain my laughter as I heard her say, "Oh, I'm sorry." The man was conducting a call and therefore wasn't able to engage us in a conversation. Otherwise, I would have pointed to my vehicle and said: "Sorry, rental car. It's still new to me."

The birthday girl sure makes 86 look good, doesn't she?