I Have Been Known To Practice Bibliomancy, Too.

I am, in general, kind of a haphazard gift-giver. Everybody in my immediate family, plus spouses and kids, gets a Christmas present, and my nephew always gets one for his birthday. But on other gift-appropriate occasions, I'll buy one if I encounter something I know you'll really like or can use, or if I'm in an especially generous mood, but otherwise you're getting a card and, if you're lucky, a phone call. Which is what I'd planned on getting my mother for Mother's Day, but, well, Powell's bookstore was having this Mother's Day deal where if you sent someone an e-gift card, you'd get 10% of the value for yourself in store credit. I know Mom's been shopping at Powell's a lot lately, plus, hey, kickback! So after a bit of dithering, I said what the hell and sent her one, figuring it would be a nice surprise.

"Nice" wasn't the word she used when she called me yesterday, although I'm sure it was nice. The word she used was "spooky." It seems she found the gift certificate in her e-mail when she sat down at the computer with the precise intention of going to Powell's and spending the exact amount I sent her, as a Mother's Day present to herself. (Of course, as we all do, she then ended up spending twice that amount, anyway.)

This tickles me immensely, not just because I apparently did real good with the Considerate Daughter thing, or because of the kickback, but also because, should I ever lose my scruples on the subject, I think I could trade on this to build up my reputation as a Book Psychic, and how entertaining a career choice would that be? Also, it's an interesting and somewhat reassuring demonstration of the power of genetics and/or environmental influence; it's good to know I come by the crazy book obsession thing honestly. Apples and tree, folks. Apples and trees.

And speaking of (metaphorical) trees and possible gift-giving occasions, today happens to be my dad's birthday. Hope you're having a good one, Dad! I'll try calling you later.