Many happy returns Mum!

It is my amazing mother's birthday today. What else could lure me back to this blog after neglecting it for yet another week?! Just-too-busy-ber is living up to its name (I have to admit that it was me who named December as such) and I've been clinging on to the edge with my toes propped on my blog to keep me from falling into the abyss of "BELATED"ness. *pictures self falling from cliff, with arms flailing, towards a river* Please don't ask me about the river...probably to do with watching too many disaster movies when young.

Gee...that stream of consciousness took a windy route! Anyway, back to my wonderful mum who I have to thank for a great upbringing and for working so hard to make sure that I was never short of opportunity. I'd go on and on but it would just embarrass her especially if I told everyone how much I love her and miss her.

So, instead, I'd like to share with you the quaint beginnings of the phrase "Many Happy Returns" in my life. When I was a child in Malaysia, and subsequently, in Perth after our migration, my Auntie Kim and Uncle George (who lived in Sydney) would send me a birthday card every year along with a crisp 10 ringgit or dollar note along with wishes for "Many happy returns of the day". I was always perplexed by this as I wondered whether they wanted me send the money back. Even worse, why would they want me to return everything that I had received from everyone else? Sounded like a miserable thing to wish someone for their birthday if you ask me!

And then I consoled myself with the thought that perhaps the phrase originated from Aborigines and the fact that there is always much happiness when one threw a boomerang and it returned effortlessly to the thrower's hand. After all, I had heard that boomerang catching was a tricky business. Needless to say, I held on to the money and every other gift that I received for my birthday albeit with a sense of how inscrutable Australian phrases and customs were.

Many happy returns, Mum!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Pumpkin Pie
Taken with Teal

Stamp sets:
Live Your Dream
Wonderful Favourites

Paper:
Old Olive CS
Pumpkin Pie DSP
Taken with Teal CS
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Mat Pack
Scallop Edge Punch
Stampin’ Write Markers in Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal and Old Olive
White Gel Pen

By the way, I didn't send this card to my mum - rather I made a card for her using "Summer by the Sea" and didn't take a photo of it in my haste to make sure that she received it in time. Just-too-busy-ber, may you know what it's like to be you! Er... ie too busy!