No you are not the Worse mother ever. A bad mother wouldn't care that she forgot. Things happen!

It's my son's b'day today, too (27) and I forgot till yesterday for much the same reason - so caught up in building a house that I don't remember what the date is :-( I caught it in time to get something shipped from Amazon that I know he wants but it won't get there till tomorrow because I refused to pay for 1 day shipping when I have Prime. So I'm not only a bad mother, I'm cheap!!! See? There's always someone worse than you ;-)

justerrilynn is absolutely right. A "bad" mother would not even care one way or another. You're simply a human mother who let a date slip by her. Please don't beat yourself up! Similar things happen to everyone at some point, and just because we forget an occasion, doesn't mean we've somehow forgotten the person that we hold dear.

Be kind to yourself. (((((Hugs)))))

You are not the worst mother ever. I feel bad for you that you feel teary. I know that your son is and will always be one of your babies (ask me how I know this), but he's an adult (even though he's still your baby) and does understand.

My sons, who are in their late 20's and have been taller than me since they were in high school, are and always will be my babies and I feel awful if I feel that I have somehow forgotten something for them. They are always quick to forgive and sometimes they didn't even notice. As parents we can be very hard on ourselves.

Not even close. My dad calls me on my sister bday to wish me happy bday. He calls her on my bday too. The minute he starts the call he knows he made a mistake:-).

I agree with other forum folks. You are a good mom, but we are all rushed these days and it sounds as though you' e been going through some changing circumstances and have a lot on your plate. Laugh about it. Heck, I barely remember our birthdays and anniversary. You are fine and very normal ;)

By the time I was 32, I kinda wished everyone would just forget I had a birthday.

At least you remembered on his birthday. ;)

I keep a calendar filled with info like that hanging inside my linen closet where I see it every day. I've even learned to make notes of any first of the month birthdays, etc. on the current month, so I don't miss them.

Oh pfffft, you're a great mother! What you could do is send him flowers to be delivered at his workplace tomorrow, and on the card you could say something along the lines of, "See what you have to look forward to in your old age? Happy Birthday!", meaning memory loss.

My son's would get a kick out of that. Their birthdays are June 11th and 12th, so they're hard to miss.

Wow, you really ARE the worst mother!

Lol. Kidding. No way does that make you even a bad mother!

My mom always forgets my bday. No big deal. She is wonderful in many ways and PhD smart about anything to do with environmental issues, but dates and times are not her thing. I wouldn't change anything about her and I bet your son won't hold this against you either. And if he has babies, he probably understands even better now that parents aren't perfect.

At 32, he should be forgiving of a slip up...as should you. Plan something special after your trip and tell him this way he'll be able to enjoy his birthday for more than just a single day.

My DH never remembered birthdays until now. He gets alerts a few days before, and then on the day of a birthday on his iPhone.

You just need to find a new system that will work for you.

Honestly, I think this matters more to you than your son. Give yourself a free pass.

Tell your son that he deserves a re do, and as Annie said, plan something special for when you get back. And I also agree with Oakley, a little bit of humor can't hurt.

Are you really? Are you really the worst mother ever? Hehe

Hey, you have a new grandbaby, that trumps all.

Thanks all....you've helped me feel less of a chump. I emailed him a gift card with a big apology for being such a ditz and a promise to celebrate in a few weeks.

So DH comes home and I tell him how upset I am that I forgot and he says "didn't we celebrate on Saturday?" WTH? Um...no.......did you see a gift? A cake? Did you hear anyone say Happy Birthday? He's almost as bad as I am....but he did send birthday wishes on FB this morning.

I think it was worse the year my mother forgot my birthday, but a month later she gave me a birthday card on my brother's birthday. I call him the 'golden child'. :p

You have a new granddaughter now. Your son will get used to becoming second. My parents were always delighted when we visited. They came out to greet us, gathered up the kids, almost totally ignoring me.