Dark Chocolate, Dark Roast Coffee, Purple Roses, and Patio Furniture

I woke up on Mother's Day realizing that, for the first time in a very long time, I had absolutely no plans.

I had nothing I had to do. I had nowhere I had to be.

I'm pretty sure I would get tired of nothing as a regular non-activity diet. 

But most days I'm already giving myself a mental run-down of the priorities of the day, so as to keep me from repeatedly hitting "snooze."

So on Mother's Day, with background of falling rain, it was a most delicious feeling to know I had absolutely no obligations in the moment.

I did eat way too much chocolate and drink a fair amount of dark roast coffee (incuding an Americano when Timothy surprised the whole family with their favorite beverages from Dunkin).

Here is a quick pictorial glance of the rest of the gifts. All have a BryonySeries theme, except for the chocolate from Rebekah. I didn't even know you could get Kit Kats in dark chocolate, mmm.

First up, two views of the bouquet of purple flowers (including purple roses) from Timothy:

And then two views of the real purple rose in water under the globe and pation furniture from Jasmine:

And finally an assortment of dark chocolate from Rebekah:

I'm sure you're wondering how Bertrand the Mouse feted me.

Well, that is a sad tale.

Bertrand is missing.

Yes, he is missing.

Four of us spent some very long hours searching the neighborhoods for him on Sunday. Even Jasmine offered to drive up from Morris to help.

When three adult children give up a chunk of their Sunday to look for a crocheted mouse on Mother's Day, you realize what kind of children you've raised.

When a fourth adult offers to travel more than half an hour one way to help look for a crocheted mouse, you'll understand the impact Bertrand has on people - and why he is more than just a crocheted mouse.

As of this writing (Tuesday morning), Bertrand is still gone.