Trifecta

Easter. April Fool's Day. My Mother's Birthday. These may have all fallen on the same day once before, but if so, I don't remember. 

Here we are, my mother and I, Easter 1957. It was April 21--she was 48 and I was 14, and we are all decked out in our new Easter clothes. Hats! Gloves! Purses! It's too bad you can't see my dress--a lavender sheath--I thought I was so stylish. We're standing in the driveway at the side of our house after church; all the trees have just begun to leaf out. 

Every year on her birthday I played the same trick on her that my father initiated when I was very small. I would wait til she was out of the room and then stand up next to the window and yell, "Mommy, Mommy, there's a big truck in the driveway! I think they're bringing something!" And she would run in, sweet thing, and my dad and I would scream "April Fools!" and laugh like crazy. What a trial it must have been to have a birthday on such a day with such an amusing family...

If I had a picture of myself from today you would see jeans and a tshirt and bunny ears. We cooked a Nice Ham and had the neighbors over, and my son joined us after he was done surfing. 

Nobody played any tricks on anyone as far as I know.


I found another photo for Extras: here are L, my very best friend, and I in our new outfits. This was the year we dressed alike. Hats! Purses! Gloves! Girdles! and what looks like a WonderBra. She was the leader. I remember thinking she was soooo chic.