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.
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