Just kiddin'!

Yesterday was April Fool's Day. I used to look forward to that day with little butterflies in my tummy because my mom would always have some innocent*, clever trick to play on my brother and me. It was always a big deal... I assumed she spent a lot of time planning her trickery so that she can strategically play it out and fool us easily. Every year, I'd remember the trick from the year before and promise myself that I wouldn't believe anything she says the next year.

Yeah, April Fool's Day reminds me of my mom almost as much as Mother's Day does!

But, over the last few years, mom's life has been less than predictable. She's walking in the wilderness right now. I can't remember the last time mom pulled an April Fool's joke over on me, despite the fact that April Fool's jokes are my favorite and clearest memories of who my mom is. Needless to say, mom didn't call yesterday. I keep thinking that maybe she knows that if she'd have called me on April 1, I'd not have fallen for anything because I'd already be prepared for her trickery by now. But, a big part of my spirit wishes she would have tried.

I thought about calling mom to play one on her - but she lives in a house in the middle of nowhere, Arizona that gets crummy phone service. So, I pretty much just wait until she calls me, because then I know she's in a good pocket of cell phone reception. Something about choppy service that makes phone calls from me to my mom even more like going to the dentist with four cavities to fill.

Anyway, I didn't plan on "celebrating" April Fool's Day at all yesterday, but a dear friend gave me the perfect opportunity...

We were going on about something or other (details are privileged, someday you shall know) and I said to her, "Yeah! That's what my whole book is about." And she responded with an eager, "book? What book!?" ... Clearly, I meant the book that I am writing. By the way, I am writing a book. And it's wonderful and therapeutic for me and that's all you need to know about it right now... you should know that I am writing a book - won't you please pray for me in that process?... Uh anyway, my dear friend on the phone was dumbfounded.
"Wow, really?"

And I kept saying "Yes, geez, the book I had published last year! What the heck, where have you been? Don't you pay attention!?"

and she kept saying, "wow, that's cool - who did you get to publish it?"

And I said stuff like "go look it up on Amazon, you'll find it."

And she kept freaking out, feeling like she'd missed out on a big part of my life. She said she was going to go to amazon and buy the book right now.

And it was fun.
And then I told her it was an April Fool's joke and she told me over and over again how I SUCK. And I laughed, and she laughed, and it was a fun time. And I love it when my friends tell me that I suck, ya know? The best part is that it came so easily. I did not have to plan that one out - my darling friend fed me my lines.

Good times!

So the fun didn't end there - I decided to change my facebook status to say something about how I'm now a published author and how exciting it is that the publishers liked my book. And I got 15 comments on that status, from people who are excited for me want to know more details.
And that was fun.

And I laughed. It was a good time - lying to my friends. I have a few really good friends, ya know? And that they fell for it was awesome for so many reasons.


And now it's April 2nd, and I am left with the mess of coming clean and apologizing for making people feel silly for believing anything I say on April Fool's Day. And I can't help but wonder if my mom would have believed me about the book. And if she did, would she buy it? And if she did buy it, would her and I need to have a long, uncomfortable conversation about "the book"? And would that conversation end up doing the opposite of what this book is supposed to do?

And so I think I shall call mom today, even if she is in a pocket of craptacular cell phone service. I'd like to hear what trickery she plotted yesterday against her new friends out there in the desert.

What about you? Did you get tricked yesterday, or were you the one doing the tricking?

* All tricks and jokes must be of the innocent kind, or they are not funny - they're just mean.