She Said: “Mom, You’re Turning 70. We Want To Celebrate You.” I Booked The Flight. Landed At LAX. THEN I REALIZED…

They said they wanted to celebrate me. My daughter’s voice was bright on the phone, almost musical. “Mom, you’re turning 70.

That’s huge. We want to throw you a party. A real one.”
So I believed her.

I booked the ticket. I packed my good dress—the navy one with the pearl buttons. I packed hope, carefully folded, pressed between tissue paper and reasonable expectations.

And then I landed at LAX, pulled my suitcase through the terminal, and stood outside arrivals for 43 minutes before I understood—before I pulled out my phone and saw the Instagram story. All of them: wine glasses raised, vineyard backdrop. Caption: girls trip goals.

No party. No me. It started three weeks earlier.

I was sitting at my kitchen table in Phoenix, tea going cold, when my phone rang. My daughter, Jessica. She doesn’t call often.

Usually texts—short ones. Busy day. Or kids are crazy.

LOL. So when I saw her name, my first thought was: something’s wrong. “Mom.

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