Surprise Party #1

My birthday (and Handyman's; we share a birthday) is March 21, and this year I was turning 30. I had a sneaky suspicion that Handyman might give me a surprise party, and I assumed that if he did, it would probably be on Saturday, since we had already decided we were taking ourselves out to a nice dinner and I figured that'd be the most conducive time to set up a surprise party.

I don't over analyze gifts. I guess it's because I don't want to set myself up for a disappointment, so when it comes to getting or (hoping for) a gift, on a deep and subconscious level I purposefully close my eyes and set my sights low.

I say all this to explain why I took Handyman at face value when he came home and suddenly decided to do the dishes and tidy up the house. It also never dawned on me that it was unusual for my man to complain that there were no ice cubes in the freezer while he tried to wedge a large box of assorted beers into the refrigerator.

After a flurry of manly cleaning the likes of which this house has not often seen, Handyman came back in the house (from taking out the trash) to tell me that I had a student waiting outside who wanted to talk to me.

Tired, worn out, and feeling especially yucky and unkempt, I put on my "teacher face" and opened the door -

- where I was completely baffled and shocked to see three couples from our church waiting outside and yelling "SURPRISE" with evident enjoyment.
They swept into my house with aplomb and began setting up the makings of a very fine party.
They brought the necessary amenities, of course.
As well as a completely unnecessary but oh-so-enjoyed Butterscotch Cheesecake that left our taste buds weeping for more. (If taste buds could weep).
We played a game called Wits and Wagers and laughed and joked until late into the night.
Thankfully Handyman was on my team, because I had no clue how the game was supposed to be working, and didn't realize until the next day that we had actually won.
I thought these two had beaten us.
(They're commiserating over the 8K Chicago Marathon that their wives were making them run on Sunday. I was hoping that one of the group would secretly stick an "I Ate Beans for Breakfast" sign on Rob's back shortly before he started running.)

I was so surprised by the party, but especially so by the kindness and generosity of my friends. They gave me a beautiful wall plaque, a gift certificate to Maurices (my favorite clothing store), and another gift certificate for an hour long massage to help me relax after an arduous day of shopping.
That night I went to sleep very tired, but very, very happy. Apparently Gabe also had a good time, because he fell asleep in the middle of climbing onto the chair.
Apparently Gabe also had a good time, because he fell asleep in the middle of climbing onto the chair.