Pre-Mother's Day running around

Mother's Day, it was like planning the invasion of Europe. I was Eisenhower. Nastia and Elena were Patton and Montgomery. I planned things and the helped execute things, without upsetting our Russian Allies. (That's a little joke Nastia says no one will understand, so I won't explain it) (Aw, hell you know I have to...Eisenhower had to preserve the Alliance against Hitler by keeping the Russians happy. I gave my children, the Russian tasks that would make them happy, simple, funny. Don't look at me that way it is funny....It's West Nyack funny)
        D-Day (yes, we're still going with the WW2 theme) was Saturday, the day before 'The Mother's day"
     At T-2 hours, noon civilian time, Elena comes up to me with a text she wrote me the day before about the gift she wanted to give her mother. I start reading it out loud. Elena jerks it away, giving me a look. It wouldn't do for Eisenhower to reveal part of the plan and be accused of having loose lips and sinking ships, Crises averted.
     After Teri has left to do grocery shopping, the three of us pile into the car and just like D-Day, the weather is poor. It's raining, sometimes hard, but We soldier on.
     Our first stop is a nursery in New City that used to be called Cropsey's, now I think it's Red Hill. I want a red dogwood tree for my mother. She has made comment recently that all of her dogwood trees are white and the one time she tried to buy a red one, the guy at Schimps Nursery, that used to be over near the middle school insisted the one he was selling her was red, it was white. We get there and the girls elect to stay in the car. I venture out and I am directed to cross a little bridge into the land of trees (my embellishment, you'll see why in a minute) I cross the bridge and enter a land of pretty flowering trees, I'm quickly walking around, because it is still raining, when a stranger appears from out of a flock of dwarfed red maples asking me what is my quest? I tell the noble spirit that I seek a red or pink dogwood tree. His reply is crisp and quick, that I have arrived at the land of Tree's of Statement and if I look to my left I will see trees starting at three-forty-three. I look at my watch wondering how time has flown so quickly in the land of statement trees. I ask the benign spirt the price of his noble green and pink friends and again he tells me the time, they start at three-forty-three. This time I've gotten the joke, I had inadvertently wandered into the land of dreams. I smile and tell the noble protector of the gold bearing denizens that I'm just looking for a give for Mom, not a statement. He bows and in a cloud of red dust or maybe red maple leaves disappears into his home make forest of statement trees.
     I smile as I turn occasionally laughing at having survived my adventure in the land of statement trees, but deep in my heart I only feel pity for those who have come before and those who will come after and be lured by the sweet serine's song to spend starting at three-forty-three, money on a statement tree, poor bastard!
      Our Quest, our invasion has not been defeated, only given something to write about in a blog. We will soldier on, next to another nursery!
     Our next stop after the magical world of Statement trees was to be another nursery center on Sickletown road. I can never remember their name  We instead do a quick side trip to the local liquor store and a discount card store. I head for the liquor store to buy some rum chatta for Teri and the girls head for the card store to buy cards.
     After that we are on our way to the nursery on Sickletown road. Its raining again and I go alone after confirming that the girls don't want to go. (Yes this will circle back in our story, it's the second time no one has wanted to go with me. That's okay, I didn't want company) I find Red Dogwood trees at $199.00 and some others at $139.00. I guess they don't stock statement trees. I did find vegetable plants at a cheaper price then Home Depot or Lowes $3.00 each. So I buy a few large singles at $2.49 and some four packs at $1.99. (I remember in the 60's when the price for a six place was less then a dollar. Wake Up.) Now having found only vegetable plants to buy at a reasonable price I get the brain storm to go to Home Depot. Why didn't I think of that before. They have trees and if they are not too abused they are reasonably priced, but are not statement trees, sadly. We head off to Home Depot. It is raining harder now then it has for most of the time We have been out. So I tell the girls I'll be back quickly. Nastia pipes up, (here it comes) I'll go with you and help you get a tree. I stop for a moment, then it hits me, David works at Home Depot. So I lay into her about the only reason she wants to go is to see David. I realize I am being a little hard on her so I circle back (see how that comes into it too) to a nicer tone and tell her she has two minutes to talk to him. She says she'll stay. Then I , hopefully in a nice tone tell her she doesn't have to stay in the car just because she wanted to go into Home Depot just to see David and I called her on it. She stayed anyway. Home Depot had no Dogwood trees.
     We go to Lunch in the Mall then head home with our bounty. Mother's Day is tomorrow and I think We have it covered. Elena got her a copy of A Dog's purpose, which she didn't wrap I guess because I didn't tell her to. Never thought I had to. Nastia got her a Sephora's gift card. I got her the Rum Chatta. My Mom did get her Pink Dogwood Tree, but I had to order it on line and it will get there about midweek.