It's been a busy year in our family to say the least. My older daughter gave birth to a baby girl at the end of May and needed a six week recuperation period from the emergency C-section she went through. Add to this the fact she hadn't been sleeping well for two months before the birth and since. My younger daughter got engaged right before New Year's Day and has been in wedding planning mode for several months. Add to this the fact that she and her fiancé just found a house and the closing is moving rather quickly, so they have been very busy.
And then there's the little matter of my 65th birthday coming up in the middle of all this. I didn't know what to do about celebrating. I mentioned I wanted to have all my family at a dinner in a restaurant to the girls. My older daughter said she couldn't take the baby to a restaurant because she was too little and would probably cry and upset all the diners. Still, I thought maybe I could find a way to have my little party at a restaurant. Then my younger daughter called me and said she and her fiancé wanted to take me out to a "popular Italian restaurant" for my birthday. I wasn't about to refuse since she was making time for me on my special day, so I accepted. And here's where the 65 lies begin. This was lie number one.
The next day I am talking to my older daughter and I told her that her sister invited us out for my birthday. I actually said she hijacked my party. My older daughter reminded me she couldn't go, but would come "after dinner" for coffee and cake at her sister's house. (Lie #2). Of course I was disappointed a little, even though I understood, My granddaughter is adorable, but she does have an extraordinary set of lungs and she isn't afraid to use them. Okay, so now there was no family party and my older daughter couldn't even join us for dinner.
Now, two weeks before my birthday, I tell my younger daughter to check with her sister, to make sure she didn't change her mind about the birthday dinner. After doing that, she should make sure she makes reservations for the four of us at 1 PM so we will be done eating early enough for her sister to join us after. She tells me "she made the reservations" and it's all set.
A few days before my birthday I ask my younger daughter if she called to confirm the reservations. She says no. I tell her she better do it. Its a popular restaurant and I don't want to drive an hour and not eat. A couple of hours later she tells me she called and "confirmed." We are all set.
Now my husband needs the address so we can drive to the restaurant. I go to the website and, as I write down the address, I am shocked to see that the hours of the restaurant are 5 PM to 11PM. Immediately I message my daughter to tell her what I saw. How do you make reservations for 1 PM if they open at 5 PM? She answers without skipping a heartbeat, "no it's fine", they "open earlier" in the "summer," she checked. I am still puzzled though. I ask why don't they update the website? She says they just didn't do it, it's fine.
Are you following along with all the lies so far? Good.
The day before the dinner I tell my daughter I will leave here around 11:30 AM, it takes an hour and there could be traffic. She tells me to go to her house and then "we will all go together" because parking "is bad" there. That's fine with me. Then, the morning of the party, I tell her maybe we will leave at 11:15 AM if we are coming to the house. She says "they won't be ready" until 12:30 PM - 12:45 PM so I should leave at 11:30 as planned, the restaurant is only ten minutes from the house. I don't want to rush her so I comply and leave as planned.
We hit no traffic at all and arrive at 12:30 PM. I tell my husband drive past the house and park and I will text to see if they are ready for us. I text that I am nearby and ask if they need more time. My daughter says no, just come in and "we will wait 20 minutes" before leaving for the restaurant. so we turn the car around and park in the driveway. My daughter is at the front door, with a poker face, to welcome us and wish me a happy birthday. Her fiancé steps out to do the same. The theme from the Golden Girls is in the background. Then I hear what I think could be a baby sound from the other room, but dismiss it since my older daughter isn't coming till after dinner. Next thing I know my older daughter pops out holding my little granddaughter, saying "Surprise and Happy Birthday." I am in shock and go kiss the baby. Then from behind me I hear the voices of all my cousins saying "Surprise!" A second surprise! They were all there. My whole family. I had tears in my eyes to see them all. I was speechless. Lots of hugs and kisses. I was trying to process how they managed to pull this off. All of them had known for weeks that this was going to happen. They told me the restaurant was closed till 5 PM and we were having the party at the house. I went to the backyard . . . or should I say the "lanai" which was decorated with tiki torches holding a Happy Birthday sign, balloons, little palm trees, palm tree plates and napkins and the flatware cleverly presented with our favorite Golden Girls, all due to my older daughter's and my own love of the show.
I can only say that after 65 years it was one of the best days of my life.
