I may have whined a little too much about my birthday being the day after Thanksgiving and hence not being a very special occasion. I sat down with Brandon after getting an invite to friend's birthday party just a few days after my birthday passed with a a few calls from family and some Facebook posts from friends. I may have begged (with tears glistening in my eyes) Brandon to make my 30th birthday next year a big deal. Yes, I'm a brat and insist that birthdays be a special day. I've been known to exclaim "Happy Birthday" every time I see someone on their birthday. I think it got old for my coworkers when they passed me in the hallway 30 times a day. I had to reign in my excitement.
He told me he would be sure to make my 30th birthday a big deal, regardless of where it fell around Thanksgiving, and we dropped the subject.
Our great friends, Natalie and Jason, had invited us over to play games on Friday, November 30th. I donned my sweatpants, anticipating us being there into the wee hours, as we usually are. I ignored Buddy's advice to "keep that shirt on, it looks nice" and opted for comfort. We walked over - walking the two blocks to the Giffords is the only exercise we seem to get. We barged in with our bags 'o' stuff with games to play and Teagan's effects - she sleeps in a Pack 'n' Play in their bedroom which is absolutely perfect. I paused to admire Natalie's Willow Tree nativity complete with backlighting in a little nook between the kitchen and the living room. I blathered on and on about the lighting, the pieces, the perfection that it was in that particular part of the house. All of a sudden, "SURPRISE!" rang out from behind me. I had been so consumed by the nativity that I hadn't noticed the nearly 30 people standing in the living room a few feet away. (Needless to say, it made me question whether or not I'd notice a burglar in enough time to do anything about it!) Apparently the awkwardness had gone on for so long that people weren't sure what to do, so Jason silently signaled to 3 and the surprise erupted. I was shocked that with more than half of those in attendance being children, they had managed to be absolutely silent. I was completely blindsided. As seen in the photos.
My first response after jumping and gasping was "I'm wearing SWEATPANTS. Why didn't you MAKE me change?!" A thank you would have been better, but that came later. Brandon had arranged everything well before I threw a tantrum (I'm not too old for those quite yet), complete with cake, ice cream and snacks. What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man. That didn't stop me from continuing to punch him for allowing my wardrobe choice and blocking me from blowing out the candle.
A special thanks to the Giffords for hosting at their beyond beautiful home, and the Headlees, Parkinsons, Pecks, Shumways, Tiffani and Yaggis for making it a birthday to remember. I can't thank Brandon enough for making me feel so special. His first question on the way home: "Do I still have to make next year a big deal?" Love him.
1 pennies for your thoughts:
I was just about to post about this on my own blog and I thought I'd see if you'd blogged about it already. I really shouldn't have done that because you tell the story way better than I could ever hope to do. It was such a fun night. So glad you were born and grateful to be your friend!
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