LMAO PF! Ain't it always the way? Was just wondering........Do you want to sell that muzzle loader? LOL! Hubby would love one! He has been "hunting" since he was a very young boy (he's now 36) and he has NEVER gotten one single deer.......EVER! He shot one once but it ran onto someone elses property and a guy that owns the property shot the deer as well.......and he claimed it! Hubby was pissed! But I digress......(as usual).

It so happens that just this past weekend I fell into shit and came out smelling like a rose!

I've been feeling rather weird about the age I have become this past birthday. I had the same reaction on my 25th birthday when I recieved a cake from my co-workers that said, "Happy 1/4 of a Century". I know it's just a number.....but I don't particularily like the sound of this number this year. Well anyway......I had kept really quiet this year about the days passing and it would soon be my birthday. Usually I am nudging anyone near me and saying stuff like, "I sure do like silver alot better than gold anymore", *hint, hint*....LMAO! But this year I told hubby in no uncertain terms......"NO CELEBRATION of any kind"! Let's act like it's any other day and just let this one pass. I actually begged him at one point.....because I kept getting a feeling, an intuition.....that something was in the works. He assured me...straight faced, looking me right in the eye.....that I had nothing to worry about and to stop reminding him. He said the day would pass uneventful and everything would be fine. We went clothes shopping that day because he hates to pick out stuff for me........he says I always say I love it and then I hardly ever wear it.

We then went for a drink and he told me he made reservations for a fave restaraunt for that evening. I got a little suspicious because he went on and on about the evening plans. Timing seemed to be of the essence. He kept looking at his watch. Hmmmm?? We went home and he went to the barn to cut his hair (he shaves it close, himself). I was told to put some of my new clothes on (which I would have anyway...and he's never told me how to dress before). Hmmmm? He came in and called our close friends and stood by the bathroom door talking a little louder than usual, and telling them we were going to dinner at 7:30 and that we would meet them for a drink at a club we go too....at 7:00. Hmmmmm? We really didn't have time for this if our reservation was at 7:30.....but, ok, the restaraunt was kinda close. We got to the club at 6:55 and went in I hugged my friends and they wished me a happy birthday and then my girlfriend said, "Hey, (so-and-so) is in the banquet hall and her birthday is today too. Wanna go meet her real quick? Hmmmmmmm???? I looked at my husband and sneered! He just shrugged and said to hurry...we had to go soon.

Up to the double doors of the hall....I could hear the party going on inside. My girlfriend started to open the doors and stepped back behind me so I had to enter first! Flashes started going off......I saw family and friends and co-workers filling the room! Everyone yelled SURPRISE! I screamed and started to cry....my hands up to my mouth and (I bet) the biggest shocked look on my face anyone has ever seen. I heard a co-worker say, "This is the first time I have ever seen her speachless"! Everyone laughed.....cause it's true! I was speachless! I had a feeling something was up......I was hoping I was wrong.......but I just felt it.......and I didn't want it to happen. But as I looked around the room and saw all the happy faces of just about EVERYONE I knew.....the dread melted away! And just when I had started to regain my composure.......from the corner of my eye I saw a figure coming towards me that I knew so very well! Someone.....(I later found out it was our friends that we had met for the drink)....had gone to New Jersey and picked up my baby sister. I haven't seen her since.......well, damn.....I can't remember since when but I think it was since the summer of 2001 (long story here and I'll spare you that). I turned to her and screamed again! I had just talked to her that morning and we both said it would be nice to come and get her but with the unpredictability of the weather lately and her 13 y/o son having to stay at home alone it just wouldn't be prudent. Yet, here she was.........I cried and sobbed heaving sobs again! I have 2 other sisters but baby sis insisted that I would have more fun if they weren't invited.....LOL! She was right.....but that's another long story I will spare you from for now.

I regained some composure again and then started to make rounds and hug each and every person there! One friend pointed to a table at the back of the room and it was full and spilling over with gifts! I was in shock again! I had never had a surprise party and I have never had so many people want to buy me a gift before....with the exception of my weddings (but that wasn't just for me alone). I swear that the best gift they all gave me was their presence........a show of friendship and love......and that all the packages in the world wouldn't compare to the fact that they came to share the evening with me!!!!!

I found out through the course of the evening that my husband and our friends had been planning this party since my last birthday. This age was a more significant number and apparently I had mentioned back then that I had never had a surprise party (this statement...I do not remember uttering.....but they did). Well.....needless to say, hubby is not in the doghouse! He said he had been scared shitless ever since they started planning this and even more so recently when I started balking about not making the day into a big deal! He is now sighing in a well deserved relief!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~