I got a text from mom’s past caregiver saying she’d seen her first bluebird of the year and it made her think of my mom.

Since we were kids, mom had a deal that the first person to see a bluebird got a chocolate bar. Back then this was a big deal as my parents were pretty stingy with the chocolate (and all other types of sugar) so we had a lot of incentive.

As we got older, the chocolate got better and the competition increased in intensity.

Last year I gave my niece a chocolate bar for the first sighting, and this year it goes to my friend.

It’s awesome that these traditions carry on.