This evening my sister called me to inquire of my girls’ mitzvah projects. Not wanting to talk about them at that very moment- for I was childless at the time and just wanted peace and quiet, I told her I couldn’t talk.

Later at my mother’s, after the ashtray incident, I casually asked my kids a rough estimate of the amount of friends they would be inviting to their b’nai mitzvah. One child said she only knew maybe 30- if that (which I had figured) and the other had a similar estimate.

To which my mother asked about invitations, dj and party favors. Mind you- my kids’ birthdays were in September and I still haven’t made a birthday party for them. This b’nai is a year out… and I should have all the key details percolating in my head???

In short, my mother offered to be my party planner since I don’t have the brain capacity to think past my possible ability to talk to dead people.