Happy Birthday Aviva!

Today is Aviva's birthday! I am positive Aviva is reading this post and is floored I remembered it is her birthday. She is stunned because she knows I called her yesterday and we had our annual chat which goes like this:

Devra: Hi Vi. Your birthday isn't today, is it?

Aviva: No, Dev. It's tomorrow.

Devra: How about having your birthday on the third because that's when I usually think it is anyway.

Aviva: Okay. But you are assuming that when you call me on the third I will remember it's supposed to be my birthday and know why you are calling me.

Devra: True. I'll call you tomorrow. But if I forget, happy birthday!

And what always happens is December 2nd rolls around. I forget to call Aviva and end up calling her on the third like I do every year to wish her happy birthday and sing off key.

Does she get upset? Do I? Nah. Let me take you back in time.

Shortly after we became moms, Aviva and I realized our brains had begun to leak. They leaked a lot. We discovered that in addition to forgetting birthdays, we forgot anniversaries, forgot to mail out gifts for major holidays, forgot to send cards to each other's kids for their birthdays. You name it, we forgot it. If we did happen to remember an event, it was usually right before the event was going to repeat anyway. Pathetic.

We had the best of intentions to remember these momentous occasions, however our lives had become busy. Our brains were taking a long and winding walk.

We came up with a solution. After more than 30 years of friendship, Aviva and I have figured out how to feel good about bein' bad.

The Annual Box


This is how The Annual Box Works.

1. We each pick out a box. We do not consult on the size of the box. Since the size of the boxes vary, we don't worry about it. Some years I send the big box, other years she does. It ends up being all fair and square.

2. Over the course of the year we each buy a few items we would like to give to a member of the other's family and we toss em in The Box. Gone are the days of thinking "Oh, that would be a great for Aviva's daughter. Oh wait, her birthday isn't' until June and it's now July." Or the other scenario which would be stumbling across a size 6 sweater when the kid now wears a 12 because when I forgot that I bought it and squirreled it away for later. With The Box, later is now!

3. When The Box is full, it gets mailed to the other's family.

Our kids love The Box because they never know when it will arrive . Aviva and I love The Box because we have no pressure to find gifts during the mad rush of the holiday season and we can also make out like bandits at the post holiday sales.

The Annual Box is a tradition! Cue Tevye and the Orchestra!