Let me just say—my mom turned 75 this year, and I’ve never seen her look more like the queen she truly is. We took her to Venice for her birthday, and the whole trip felt like a dream.

Let’s start with the outfit. I found her a red sequined and satin gown—the top half shimmering with sparkles, the bottom half a deep, flowing red satin that moved like water. Then there was the crown. It has red stones and delicate silver details, exactly what I imagined when I thought “royal Venice birthday queen.” I was a little nervous it wouldn’t match the online photos, but the moment she

put it on? Perfect. She looked like she belonged in a palace, not just a water taxi on the Grand Canal.

We began the day in that yellow leather water taxi, gliding past ancient Venetian buildings, and she sat there as if she owned the city. Sunglasses on, crown perched on her head, red gown glowing in the sun. The mirror on the ceiling kept catching the light off her sequins, and I kept snapping photos, thinking, Is this real? Later, we stepped onto a gondola, and she held the sides like she was the queen of every canal. Gondoliers, tourists, random passersby—everyone stopped to take her picture. And why wouldn’t they? She was breathtaking.

At dinner that evening, she never took the crown off. We were at a cozy little restaurant, and she wore those silly “75” glasses, raising her drink as if to toast the entire city. Her Delta sorors couldn’t get over the whole look—they kept saying she seemed ready to waltz into a ball, not just a casual Venetian dinner.

And here’s the thing I still can’t get over: that crown cost less than $40. Less than two hundred dollars. It felt like a splurge, but honestly, for the joy it brought her, it was worth every penny. She’s still wearing it days later, just around the hotel. It’s become her new signature piece.

I keep looking at the photos, and my heart feels completely full. She spent her 75th birthday in Venice, treated like royalty, feeling like the most special woman in the world. That’s all I ever wanted for her.

All hail the queen, indeed.