I was talking to my mom, and she told me that one of her close Jehovah’s Witness friends (who actually wrote me a check as a wedding gift even though she’s never even met me and was not invited to the wedding) came over to the house over the weekend to make my dad lamb. My dad loves lamb, and he occasionally made it for Ed and me growing up, which is how we both learned to love lamb. My mom, on the other hand, has always hated it and may even have an allergy to it. The one time my uncle made a lamb stew and didn’t tell my mom it was lamb, she spent the wee hours of the night vomiting into the toilet.

On the one hand, I thought it was incredibly sweet, thoughtful, and generous for her friend to come over and make lamb for my dad, who she knows loves it. On the other hand, I thought it was a little strange. She’s not that close to my mom, but she still volunteered to surprise them at their house and make them a whole lamb roast? Where does my mom find these people? I can’t even get people at my office to pay for a $10 lunch for me.