How to be a rotten daughter

My dad is exactly one year and one day older than my mom, and even though I've had 27 years to get it right, I can never remember if their birthdays fall on April 3rd and 4th or April 4th and 5th. Every year I feel so guilty that I can memorize the birthdays of all my siblings, their spouses, their children, and the birthdays of all my in-laws, but I can never manage to remember my own parents. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the days being so close together since we always celebrated both birthday at one time while I was growing up, but that's not a good enough excuse for me. It's just wrong to forget your parent's birthday.

I decided I would get down to bottom of this mystery one way or another this year, even if it meant I had to come out and say, "Mom, Dad, I can't remember who's birthday falls on what day. Isn't that hilarious?"

I bought no sugar added apple pie and vanilla ice cream while I was out grocery shopping this morning--my dad is diabetic and they both love a la mode pie--with the intentions of dropping in on them with birthday wishes and a little something sweet. And how lucky was I that at least someones birthday had to have taken place this weekend?

Jon and I actually ended up going out to dinner with my parents, brother, sister, and nephew to celebrate, and relief flooded over me when half way through dinner my brother nonchalantly asked, "So, your birthdays were yesterday and the day before, right? I know they're in the first week of April but I can never remember which days."

To which my mom replied, "Nope, today is my birthday and your father's was yesterday."

Neither of my parents were hurt by our forgetfulness. Not that I expected them to be offended, but you never know.

I'm writing this now, not because I think it's an entertaining story (believe me, I know it's not) but because next year I'm going to know when my parents birthdays are, and I'm going be without a doubt because I left myself this note in April 2009:

Dad's birthday = April 4
Mom's birthday = April 5

Mystery solved.