A Big Fat Surprise

I just got back home after a week in Southern Florida. It wasn't very warm (for Southern Florida), I might have eaten a bad oyster and my tan lines are super wonky. But all in all it was a fantastic trip because I was there to surprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday. Grams? She was beyond surprised. Me? I was reminded of how good surprise can be.

I flew down to Ft. Lauderdale and met my parents and Aunt and Uncle who flew in from Minneapolis. My Dad and Uncle are my Grandma's sons and they've been planning this for a while. I jumped on last minute because I couldn't fathom missing it. The five of us drove up to her place in Boca Raton on her birthday and hatched our plan along the way. My Grandpa was in on it so we had our window. I went up to the door alone first and knocked, hearing my Grandpa yell "come in" while Grams added "it must be Jerry." When I opened the door, she glanced over and it took her a few moments to register. Then? The perfect reaction. She jumped up, ran to me and gave me the biggest bear hug. She cried and repeated "I don't believe it, I don't believe it." After 5 minutes, my parents knocked on the door, and five minutes after that, my Aunt and Uncle knocked. Each time, my Grandma was floored, totally shocked and overcome with tears of joy.

There are plenty of people who claim to not like surprises. I suppose those are people who like to know exactly what they are doing all the time - type As, planners and the like. And then there are those who don't like to be the center of attention, those for whom a light-switch flipped to reveal a room full of people is akin to public speaking. But surprise doesn't always have to be a grand production or involve the masses, I venture to say there's a surprise to fit any personality.

When I first moved to Atlanta from Minneapolis, I decided to surprise my Mom for her birthday. She was at dinner with my Dad and Brother at a local restaurant and I simply showed up and joined them. All it took was  a plane ticket and my Dad to let me know where they'd be. My Mom would claim to be one of those who doesn't like surprises, but I'm pretty sure she was happy to see me - and happy to have been surprised to do so.

My husband surprised me for my 30th birthday with a trip to New York City. He had planned my vacation time with my boss and booked everything. On the day we left, he woke me up early and told me to get ready. I grumbled (he might say snapped) that I still had 20 minutes left to sleep. He nudged me again and told me to get ready for the cab. That was a magical trip, partly because New York played its part by being awesome, but also because the glow of being surprised stayed with me. Every place we walked or ate made me think of the moment we got to the airport and I learned where we were going. It wasn't a big production and it was just for me from him. A trip to New York was more than gift enough, but the surprise made it extraordinary.

Throughout the past week, during a quiet moment, Grams would say again "I don't believe it." It felt so good to have been part of her big, fat, loving surprise. I hope she had the best birthday. The glow of being the surpriser it seems is equally lovely as that of being surprised.