My Mom has a lot of wonderful qualities, but unfortunately being easy to shop for is not one of them. Christmas, Mother’s Day , and her birthday always present the same near impossibility of figuring out what we can get her that she a) will like, and b) won’t be able to return.

She really doesn’t like the idea of her kids spending money on her (the fact that we are all adults with steady jobs hasn’t set in yet), so when we ask her if there is anything in particular that she would like as a gift, we usually get an answer like, “Oh, you know what? There’s a spatula at Bed, Bath & Beyond that I’ve had my eye on. You kids can go in on it together. Here, I’ve got a coupon.” So when we find something that we think she’ll like, we are nothing short of thrilled.

Something else you should know about my mother is that she, like many other people around the world, loved Princess Diana and was shocked and saddened to hear of her untimely death. My sister, Heather, was on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard a few months after the accident, which also marked the tail end of the Beanie Baby craze of the 90s, when she hit the jackpot: a commemorative Princess Diana Beanie Baby.

Best of both worlds, right? Right.

I was home alone when I got her call and after hearing the description of the Beanie Baby, I agreed that Mom would dig it and that she should definitely pick it up. $100? Totally worth it. Not only would it be paying homage to Princess Di, which Mom would love, it was a limited edition Beanie Baby. The value would obviously be skyrocketing in the years to come. She could retire off of this gift!

Shortly thereafter, I got a call from my Dad and I excitedly told him about the new Mother’s Day gift developments. I don’t know if it was the rush of knowing that we had nailed the gift conundrum, my lack of knowledge regarding current events, or my general dimwittedness, but I told him that Heather had scored a Mother Theresa Beanie Baby for Mom and she was going to love it. He asked me to repeat myself and I confirmed that, indeed, it was a Mother Theresa Beanie Baby. He asked how much it was and if she had already purchased it, and I enthusiastically told him, “Only $100!” and “Yes! No returns!”

He was proud, I could tell. And – dare I say – a little jealous of our awesome Mother’s Day gift?

We spent the next few days giddily anticipating gift-giving time, and my Dad spent the next few days trying to figure out why we thought that my Mom would like a Mother Theresa Beanie Baby and what, exactly, a Mother Theresa Beanie Baby was. Does it look like Mother Theresa? I mean, lion Beanie Babies barely look like lions…how were they going to pull this one off?

Needless to say, my Mom was thrilled with the gift. She really never saw this one coming. After we explained what it was and its value, she vowed never to take it out of the acrylic collector’s box, no matter how much she wanted to play with it or show it off to her friends. Our willpower has waned a few times in the years since, and now we occasionally (carefully) free the bear from her confines and admire her. You can hardly blame us – she’s glorious.

As far as the resale value goes, we have pretty high hopes that, if she could ever bear (pun absolutely intended) to part with it, my Mom could still make a fortune. I mean, they’re selling on eBay for anywhere from $5 to $549,000 (and that’s without the ear tag protector that ours has), so we’re not worried.

You’re welcome, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day!