Surprise!

Sean usually can't pull one over on me

He's a terrible liar
And he usually gets so excited he can't contain himself
Plus, Sean has a tell
So does Lucy

Like one time, he made reservations at Davio's for my birthday dinner (and by one time, I mean a few weeks ago) but he put it on the family calendar...for which I receive notifications

Other times, he'll order things for me but forget that Alexa notifies us of all deliveries
And by us, I mean all the Alexa's in the house will play notifications and will usually tell you exactly what is being delivered
And because Amazon and I are on a first name basis, I always assume the notifications are mine because frankly, I have a problem and shop way more on Amazon than I should

Or, Sean will hide something somewhere forgetting I'm the one who cleans the house and notices if something is slightly out of whack or, if something is where it should not be
You know, like a blanket randomly tossed over something ... like I am just going to walk by and leave it there
Or a closet door not quite closing as it should
Or a random box that appears on a shelf or in the garage
I'm always going to investigate

Once, Sean tried to surprise me with a trip
I came home from work and he greeted me at the door like a cat who had just eaten a canary
He was jumping around like a kid grinning from ear to ear
I need you to take a couple days off work in May and you can't ask why he said to me giggling
OK, I replied
And you can't ask why he said
OK
Seriously, I'm not telling you why! It's a surprise!
OK I said, what days should I take off?

He told me the dates to take off and then walked away
Only to come dashing back like a kid on a sugar high

Don't you want to know? Is it killing you? Are you dying to know????
Nope, you said it was a surprise
But don't you kinda wanna know?
Nope

He spent the evening pacing around with a little pep in his step and kept giggling to himself
Then he'd say
You are going to be so excited! You are going to LOVE IT!
I bet I will honey, can't wait
Do you wanna know? Wanna take a guess? Wanna hint???????
Nope, you said it was a surprise, I'll just be surprised
What? Admit it, this is killing you, you want to know!!!
Nope, I'd say calmly with a shake of my head, you planned a surprise trip for us, I do not want to ruin it, I will take the days off as requested and just be surprised, you'll just have to tell me how to pack
He'd giggle and run away only to come back and say
This is killing you right?! Are you trying to figure it out???
Nope, I wanna be surprised I'd reply

But I did not want to be surprised
I knew it had to be someplace I really wanted to go because he was so excited
But I knew if I asked, well, that would just not work
So I played it cool...as cool as I can play it anyway

He broke in less than 24 hours
And that trip to Savannah, GA was amazing

The only time he has ever pulled one over on me was the day he proposed
I had no idea even though I had unknowingly picked out the ring
That was a good one

That was the only time Sean ever pulled one over on me

Until yesterday

Yesterday, he and Lucy pulled off a surprise 50th birthday party for me
And he is still high as a kite knowing he pulled one over on me

He thought I was on to him a few times

But he expertly turned off the Alexa in my office so I did not get notifications
He avoided making commitments to all the stuff I suggested we do together on Sunday August the 7th but did so without raising suspicion
And when he did get me out of the house to set up and get people here, he turned off the cameras so I would not get notifications that there was movement in the backyard or in the driveway

With help from some wonderfully patient friends and my family, he pulled one over one me

So on the cusp of turning 50, and by cusp of 50 I mean tomorrow, to look around a room and see my sisters and brothers-in-law, my mother, nieces and dear friends we hold close and who hold us close, who we think of as family, I can't help but think I am pretty darn lucky

I am even luckier I have a husband and daughter who would carefully and concisely lie to me for two plus weeks.....
talking about me behind my back
coercing me to leave the house under false pretenses
intercepting deliveries and the mail
deleting messages from their phones so I would not see anything
using code words so I would not catch on
doing everything they could possibly do to make sure my birthday was an event

Turning 50 is a milestone
I'll measure mine not in years but in the love I am surrounded by from my family and my family of friends

And in having one pulled over on me by Sean with lots of help from Lucy ..... a milestone indeed