When she was leaving work recently, he stopped her and gave her a really big box. Before she was even able to open it ...

It’s never as easy as a wishlist: Finding a gift for mom entails deciphering the cryptic clues that she drops (in between her insistences that she “really doesn’t want anything”).

As she was paying for it, she told me that this sale was my birthday gift. I smiled and said “thank you.” I didn't really know how to react. Then at Christmas, as I opened her gift ...