I'll be sure to pass it along...

I used to work in the same building as my mother. It was not a bad arrangement. It is a big building and we worked in different offices so we weren’t always bumping into each other. And sometimes she would buy me lunch. It worked out rather well in fact. Until she retired. It was no secret that we were related I just didn’t know how far spread the information was until now. Because now I have people come up to me all the time and ask how she’s doing. Well, frankly she’s doing a whole lot better than the rest of us poor slobs that still have to drag ourselves into work everyday. Thanks for rubbing it in. And then they tell me to say hello to her for them. Okay. Really? Do they expect that to happen? I mean, for a while I actually intended to pass along the message. But by the time I saw her I would forget to and, let’s face it, with my horrible memory remembering who said hi was never going to happen, even if I knew all these people to begin with. Which I don’t. So one time I told her that people were always telling me to say hi and she should just assume everyone had. And then I decided I was done. People still ask and I say that I will but it is more like saying ‘fine’ when someone asks me how I am. I don’t really mean it, it just seems like the right thing to say. I thought it might be poor form to say no to such a request. Although it might be fun to see their faces if I did. I figure I’m not really lying, or at least it doesn’t count as lying because they can’t honestly believe that all these messages get back to my mother. But it looks like I’m going to have to wait until everyone my mother knew retires (or I do) before people stop asking. She was apparently very well known and liked among the staff here. I suppose that’s nice to know but all this interest is starting to get annoying. I’m thinking about making up cards to hand out. Ones that say ‘My mother is doing well, thank you for asking. If you write your name and a short message on the back of this card I’ll be sure to pass it along.’ And who knows? I might actually do it.