Lush Mama

For Christmas I decided to get mama three books (in Spanish, of course) whose central characters are women dealing with repression, opression, or otherwise unfair worlds: Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen), Yerma (by Lorca) and The House of Bernarda Alba (also by Lorca). She has never read any of these and I think she'd be able to relate, although she's so repressed herself that her defenses might keep her from connecting with the stories. We'll see.

My real trouble begins with the bath gift set I bought her from Lush. The picture above is a bit unclear, so if you really wanna know what's in the box, click here. It's basically a bunch of soaps and some shower gel and shampoo. The trouble is that mama never likes the gifts I get for her. It's not that she hates the gifts, it's that she complains that I spent money on something so, well, worthless. Inevitably, whether out of guilt or rebellion, she ends up enjoying what I get her. Okay, a couple of years ago I made incense for her--yup, hand made--and she downright hated it and I kept it for myself, BUT she usually keeps other gifts and even makes the most of them as the year goes on. I think she misses me and appreciating my gift is a way of connecting with me. I know, I know, MAYBE her universe doesn't revolve around me, but it does. Trust me.

So I think she'll end up using the stuff in the box, but that she'll whine about it the whole time I'm there. Here's my plan: if she complains, I'll immediately take the gift for myself. That's fair, right? And then she can just have a few books and a Christmas card to remember me by until I visit again next year.

BTW, I LOVE Lush's soaps. I got a whole bunch of free samples after buying mama's gift and they are so good. When I come out of the shower I'm already moisturized because the soaps are packed with oil. I'm worried for our plumbing, but my skin is ecstatic.