So There We Were...

The 17th was Jessie's birthday. Alex had planned a wee surprise celebration with Brett and me. "We're having a fancy supper and I want y'all there. Dress up and sneak in while we're walking the dogs."

So we did. Brett donned a seersucker suit and I wore the dress I had wanted to use as my wedding dress but Mom told me it looked like a bathrobe. We snuck into their house and waited. Alex and Jessie have two dogs, Aiko and Sadie. Sadie is obsessed with Brett. She has a spastic reaction that is specific to Brett so when Alex and Jessie got back to their yard, Sadie picked up Brett's scent and did her Sadie-Brett Dance and then Jessie knew we were going to be inside. Sadie blew the surprise.  

Ne'ertheless she was excited to see us and she loved our sparkly top hats. (We wore sparkly top hats.) We visited and snacked and jumped in their pool and Alex slaved over scallops and risotto. He opened a special bottle of wine and called us out of the pool like a tired papa and made us put our fancy clothes back on. So we ate. And it was delicious. And we sang happy birthday and we sliced into the cake and then it was time for presents. She opened this one. She opened that one. And then Alex gave her a card to "read out loud." It was from him and it was beautiful. It was the kind of poetic musings that one saves for a proposal. Suddenly I got worried. Jessie has been wanting to get married and if Alex said all this and didn't follow it up with a proposal I was going to have to have to words with him. Jessie kept reading, happily oblivious to the weight of the romance. There's no way he can't follow this up with a ring. I think he might be going to do it. I gave Brett a strange look and told him "I think Alex is going to propose" with my eyes. Brett didn't get it at first and then I saw it dawn on him. Brett suppressed a big smile and Jessie read on. I noticed Alex was standing. I noticed Alex was holding a small cube. My hands started sweating. Jessie hadn't looked up. Brett put his hands on mind in an effort to say "don't blow this." I was SO nervous. Then he took this picture. 

Jessie got to the end of the card and looked up at Alex who then knelt and asked and she said yes and then we all hugged and laughed and felt my sweaty hands. 

Alex asked permission from Jessie's parents a few days earlier by sending a cover letter and resume outlining his qualifications for the job. It was funny and sweet and quite in-depth. They FaceTimed family and texted friends and then we played a celebratory round of Catan.  Brett and I were sure they were so distracted that we could crush them. They still won, as usual.

Brett and I are so crappin' excited. Alex and Jessie are a wonderful pair and while they planned to stay together forever very shortly after meeting, Alex wasn't sure about marriage (his divorced folks soured it for him) while Jessie has been sure about marriage and lots of babies the whole time.

Brett and I are relived. We thought we were gong to have to slap some sense into Alex. 

They''ll get married in Cooperstown, NY (where they're from) in 2022 which is way too far away. Maybe I do need to slap to sense into them.

Two Weddings and My Favorite Girls

Who's got the time to update their uninformative blog when they have two weddings in the same weekend? You know, it's nothing for weeks and then two at once. It's actually kind of thrilling but I am out of practice standing for long stretches time and lifting wet buckets and fighting with thorns. Also, something's going on with my jaw. It hurts a bunch and I can't close my mouth all the way.

I'm achy and tired and I found my awful brain wishing for free time. Why can't your brain ever just let you be at peace? 

So in the meantime, here's my new favorite picture. 

Has anyone mentioned how zen Ellen has become? She really good at being a mom. She's all focused and prepared and unfazed. This is not the Ellen we know. She's .... calm. Who is this new person? All purposeful and busy and tough. Well, those are words I'd use for Ellen but they have a different meaning now. Ellen has morphed. This different set of priorities looks good on Ellen. Maybe it's taken the pressure off of her or given her an important job to do, but I reckon Ellen has found the best reason to wake up in the morning. 

The Boat Wedding

Right there at the end of May I got to decorate a charter boat for a tiny wedding celebration. Every once in a while a wedding will have a cozy, serene, warm kind of vibe about it that feels particularly special and charged with greatness. I've found the special charge is most likely to show up in small weddings but come to think of it, maybe that's just the sensation of a small wedding. It's just the lot of you, all there looking each other right in the eyes. It makes sense that would feel more cozy than being part of an audience. Well now I'm rethinking everything. 

Anywho, Carter and Liz are friends of Ari and Nate so we've spent time with them at get-togethers over the years and we've voted them "a great pair". 

Well, the pandemic cancelled their original plans of a Memphis wedding in May. They scrambled to replan and then had a family atrocity take place just weeks before the postponed day. It became a strange time for Liz's family to celebrate. So with full support from their families in Tennessee, they rented boat, picked up Ari and Nate as witnesses and got married on the Folly River. 

This was the best time I've ever had setting up a wedding. While I typically work with a bride for about year and let them change their minds over and over and make sure I write "marsala" instead of burgundy or maroon because they get "like, really anxious when people say burgundy. My wedding is NOT burgundy!", Liz called up about two weeks out and said, "Could you whip up a bouquet and boutonniere for us?" To which I said, 

"Of course. Anything else?" and then she said, 

"Well, we're getting married on a boat. What do you think? Garlands maybe?"

"Great! What kinds of blooms do you like." 

"I like weird things." 

"I got you." 

I wish it was always this easy. For Liz I went bright and cheerful, just like her. She has brilliant smile. I tucked in weird things, made boutonnieres for the whole gang, and then picked up Sweet Mama for setup. 

We pulled up to the most amazing rental property that we never knew was on Folly Beach. It was a boy's camp in the 70's, eighteen hidden acres of tropical woods along the Folly River. It had a clearing for a little bungalow with old pine walls and creaky floors. 

Ari came out of the house. "Is this not the best place you've ever seen?" And indeed, it is the landscape I have only dreamed of here in front of my eyes. In the best kind of way, I was bummed out for the rest of that weekend. I was elated to see it and then crushed to leave it behind. I spent several hours the next day looking at land on Wadmalaw. My dream of waterfront land for my farm animal rescue and gardening efforts seems so urgent now. 

Anywho. Ari helped us carry my flower buckets down the dock where we met the boat captain who said "Do whatever you like, just take off your shoes." I was inordinately excited to get to work without shoes on. There was breeze and plenty of time to get my work done. I kicked back on the bow and acknowledged living the good life. Mom and I concurred that no wedding setup will ever beat this one. 

That is one happy florist. 

So we strung up our garlands, dotted them with colorful blooms, and strategically placed two tiny centerpieces. Just as we were wrapping things up a big grey raincloud rolled in so we ran back down the dock towards the house. Carter and Liz were having their pictures taken so we got to see them all dressed up and ready -that's a real thrill for me. I rarely get to see the couple on the day. We said our goodbyes and then anxiously awaited updates from Ari. 

The storm passed and the show went on just one hour behind schedule. They even got a little rainbow and I just think their photos are gorgeous. 

Thirty

In January Brett asked me what I wanted for my 30th birthday this year. I told him I wanted a surprise party. You have to tell people these things that way, when the day rolls around, you aren't disappointed and they aren't oblivious. I've never had a surprise birthday party and I love surprises, so I decided the thirtieth birthday would make for a perfect unexpected celebration.  "For me? You shouldn't have! "

Growing up with a summertime birthday means that lots of your friends are out of town on vacation or away at summer camp and you just can't quite get the perfect collection of friends at your party. I don't have many birthday memories at all, particularly post-high school and while many may make this claim and blame it on the drunken stupors of one's early twenties, I make it simply because I was often traveling through Europe on my birthday (snob) and therefore alone or on a train or enjoying an economic supper with a single traveling friend. I do remember my 20th birthday because it was my first backpacking trip. Ari and Jared and I had made it to Copenhagen. We were nearing the end of our trip and our expense accounts so to celebrate, after super Jared bought me a popsicle from a drug store and Ari performed a tap dancing routine on the cobblestone street. It was a special moment. 

This April, when Coronavirus rearranged life a bit, I excused Brett from plotting a birthday party. A party at all was no longer a fair expectation and I resigned myself to another quiet, sweet, Laura-like birthday That's no problem. Maybe just a game night with a few favorite friends. Alex and Jessie have recently introduced us to a game called Catan and we can't get enough. 

When June rolled around I admitted to myself that the surprise of all surprises would be a surprise party in place of one I hoped for but knew was impossible. Maybe there would be a surprise party! I did my best to squash my hopes. A larger percent of me knew I was setting myself up for disappointment. Then I learned that Alex and Jessie were going to be out of town for the last two weeks of June and then I knew for certain there would be no surprise party. You just can't have a party without them.

Imagine my bubbling joy when we come home from our dog walk one Friday evening and Alex and Jessie are in our living room with tacos and Catan and birthday presents. Boy I love surprises. Brett left the back door unlocked so they could sneak in and set up. "It's your pre-brithday celebration!" Jessie exclaimed and then we ate things and giggled and told stories. 

Two weeks later, on my actual birthday, I had a real special day. We woke up early and Brett whisked me off for a morning kayak ride. We found dolphins and turtles and an expensive house on the water that we would like to buy. 

When we got home, our home had been vandalized. 

The white sign says "honk its my birthday" and Brett wouldn't let me take it down, so people blew their horns at our house all day. Ellen and Mom were to blame for this and they both were mostly excited about the embarrassment it caused me. 

The afternoon was filled with unexpected friend visits and birthday cards and then I took a big celebratory shower and nap. In the early evening I was piddling around cleaning things when Brett suggested we pickup Chipotle for dinner. I crappin' love Chipotle so we ordered online for pickup. I harassed Brett to make sure he got all of my burrito details right. "We'll pick it up and eat on the Battery," Brett said. 

"I love it!" I replied. 

Just as we left, Brett said Dad asked him to come by and pick up the ficus tree. Mom and Dad have a heavy, potted ficus tree that blows over all the time. Dad still isn't allowed to do any heaving lifting so Brett said we'd swing by. We went around into the backyard to find the ficus. It was standing upright. Mom came outside to greet us. 

"What's with the tree, Ma? It's fine."

"Yeah, we were going to have you move it but I want you to see what's growing over here."

Mom stepped off of the paved portion of the backyard and I knew something was fishy. She lead us down towards the tree house and I thought it odd that Mom ever ventured this far into the yard during warm weather. She certainly wouldn't have been peering into the bushes, looking at plants. 

And then BAM! 

Four sweet friends leapt out from behind a bush and scared all three of us. Mom and Brett knew it was coming and it still scared them. It was the most aggressive shouting of birthday wishes I have ever experienced. Boy I love surprises. 

I learned that it takes a moment for surprise things to register. I still thought we needed to leave to pick up our Chipotle order and I thought Brett was just as caught off guard by the change of plans. Ari had to inform me several times that Brett's the one who planned the whole thing. I wished I had put on different pants. Inside there was pizza and birthday cake and finger foods as well as Ellen and Lee and baby Liv. Dad looked sharp in his bionic brace. So we all ate and had dock time and came back in for cake. 

I was so enlivened by the whole thing. I had a whole day of happy surprises! And to top it all off, when we got home at midnight there was a tin of freshly baked cookies on our porch with a sticky note that said "happy birthday". I just loved the notion... but there was crappin' way I was eating stranger-porch-cookies unless I could figure out who sent them. I never did find out who left them but they smelled so good I had to have a bite. There must have been four dozen so I gave lots away and so far no one has died. 

After so much scheming and texting and acting casual, The Big Guy was exhausted. I can't believe he pulled it off because I must ask him a few hundred questions everyday. How could he keep his story straight? Brett was surprised and bothered by how easy it was to lie. He did such a good job acting like nothing was going on. He never rushed me out of the house or told me to put on real pants or other little things that can be giveaways. Everything seemed like a suggestion he'd just come up with. I'm tickled and honored that Brett still put together a tiny Covid party and filled the day with surprises along the way. 

Have I mentioned he's the greatest?

The next day, we had a multi-birthday celebration for Uncle Dave and Alston and me. It meant lots more cake and giggling and stories. Dave showed us some rafting videos on Youtube that are true gems and there was a bit more dock time. 

I am now proudly thirty years old and have been excited for this decade since my early teen years. Everyone says this is the best chunk. I'm already inclined to agree... never-mind the state of the world right now. This is about me. And I'm excited.