Good grief. I was never much of a Peanuts fan, but Charlie Brown's catchphrase seems to be the first expression to come to mind. Oy. That's the second one.

I called my mom to see how she was moving along with wedding-related stuff. Mainly: 1) has she bought a dress yet (and if so, is it appropriate, or is she attending a wedding on some distant planet?), 2) what hotel is she staying at, and 3) where's my response card? And 4), I also figured I could use some filler material for my next therapy session (reminds me of the Geico commercial where the caveman puts his mother's call on speakerphone so his therapist can hear).

1) Hasn't gone dress shopping. Hasn't even browsed to see what's out there. Now come on, I'm sure she's been to the mall in the last few months. Would it be that hard to at least walk past the special occasion section at Macy's or Penney's?

2) Hasn't booked hotel yet.

3) "Oh, didn't look at it that closely." The invitations looked like something corporate. Back in my day they had scrollwork and frilly edges." Maybe she's referring to the block lettering? I don't know, to me at least, pearlescent paper with bright aqua doesn't look too corporate. Our names were in script, at least. I decided to just say, "What do you want to eat?"

I guess I should just be glad that she at least has a plane ticket. Oy.

I mentioned that while Ryan's mom was down last weekend, she said, "Cat, your mom must be really excited!" (My response was, "Uh, yeah, I guess...well...I think it hasn't really sunk in yet..." but I didn't mention that to my mom). My mom said, "Well, I'm not a big party person."

That's golden fodder for my therapist. Hello? Earth to Cat's mom?! Come in! Do you copy? I think the point is that your first child and only daughter is getting married. You know, the whole big trip across the country to witness the big commitment/starting a new family/sacred covenant and all that jazz. Not whether or not you're big on social gatherings. Good grief. It's not just lack of enthusiasm, it's lack of most interest at all. You'd think she was attending a wedding of some distant in-law who she'd met once at a funeral.

I admit that the reason that Ryan's mom's over-the-top-ness makes me feel bad (see stress last weekend) is the disparity with my mom's attitude. Ryan's mom won't stop asking questions: "Do you know what you're wearing to the rehearsal dinner? What is your first dance song? What song are you cutting the cake to? Are you having any readings during the ceremony? etc... With a lot of the questions I just smile and say, "It's a surprise," secretly hoping that it will reduce the number of future questions. I can't think of a single question my mom has asked about the ceremony or reception. I mean, I volunteer information and she sometimes comments ("Outside? You'd better hope it doesn't rain."), but there's not much anticipation.

I have some heavy therapeutic gardening to do tomorrow!