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Go Ask Your Dad

Don't be a louse By Tony DoderoPublished: May, 2010

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I’ll never forget that Mother’s Day when my brother and I forgot to get our mom a gift. We were driving to church, and my mom was in tears telling us that we didn’t love her.     “We do love you, Mom. We do,” my brother and I cried.     Whew – talk about Catholic guilt.     Then there was my dad’s reaction. As he drove down the road, he glared at us through the rearview mirror.     “What does it feel like to be a louse?” he asked us.     I didn’t know what a louse was, but I knew I didn’t want to be one. And I’ve never forgotten my mom since.     So this month’s column is aimed at making sure Mom is given the honor she deserves on Sunday, May 9.     One easy remedy is that old fashioned breakfast in bed. And what else would a dad columnist suggest to be on the menu than Daddy Cakes?     Daddy Cakes pancakes are the brainchild of Orange County resident and dad Dan Byers. Once a commercial real estate broker, Byers made the pancakes for family members, and they loved the tasty morsels.     So when real estate went into a slump, he decided to introduce his version of dad flapjacks to the rest of the world. If Daddy Cakes sounds like a good idea for Mom, just check out the Web site at daddycakesbakery.com.     But I want to get this right. So I decided to go to a mom for answers. And what better mom than Greer Wylder, the founder of the wildly popular retail Web site Greer’s OC and the mother of four young boys.     Surprisingly, Wylder’s idea of a great gift can’t be found in a Prada store.     “The best gift is always handmade cards and letters,” she says. “I don’t think there’s anything better. I always save them, and they’re hysterical to read as the kids grow older. And the boys have bought me flowers, which I always love.”      Still, as the queen of Orange County retail deals, Wylder has some gift suggestions any mom would love.     For the mom who likes gold and silver jewelry, she suggested Costa Mesa artist Suzan’s handcrafted baubles. Check out studiosuzan.com for more details.     She also suggested Laguna Beach’s Diana Phillips Chocolates, which specializes in seasonal artistically designed handmade chocolates. For more information, go to dianaphillipschocolates.com     Mom might also like a gift certificate to Brystan Studios for portraits that will make her look her best. For details, go to brystan-studios.com. Finally, she suggested a gift certificate to The Spa at The Resort at Pelican Hill.     For those who want to avoid those louse-like tendencies, it’s real easy: Just remember Mom on Mother’s Day, because just that act of giving can represent something even bigger.     “As they saying goes, you can tell how a man will treat a woman by the way he treats his mom,” Wylder says.     There you have it – guilt and pressure all rolled into one Sunday in May.     Happy Mother’s Day. Tony Dodero is a longtime Orange County journalist and former editor of the Daily Pilot. Contact him at doderocommunications.com.

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Tony, your Mom got the best Mother's gift in the end. You became a writer, like her.

Comment at 5/2/2010

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