Well, for those of you who’ve wondered if I’d dropped off the face of the earth or just had become really rude because I haven’t answered your emails, letters, or phone calls, I can now reveal why! Yesterday we threw a big surprise party in honor of my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary (which is actually tomorrow, but they’ll be in PEI, so we did it early).
I’ve never been one for deceit, and I’m pretty sure this was the most I have ever deceived my mom. It was eating me up inside! We came home to Columbia for the weekend “to take them out for lunch for their anniversary” (which was technically true, because there was lunch served at the party). Saturday saw me running around frantically to pick up the cake, go to the Farmer’s Market for fruit, chop fruit for a fruit salad for 2 hours, help Brenda (the hostess) finish getting ready, and act like I was really home to see my mom. Sunday was even crazier–we’d planned to come home from church before Sunday School so that I could run over and decorate the cake before my parents got home. When my mom decided to come home with us, we dropped her off with Tommy and manufactured a grocery run that suspiciously took 45 minutes. Then Tommy’s rash, our planned reason to get the fam over to Kellar and Brenda’s for Dr. Kellar to look at, suddenly disappeared Saturday! Derek and I kept insisting that we just wanted Kellar to check it out before we left town. I was so sure my parents suspected everything! Fortunately my fervent prayers were answered, and we got my parents and Tommy into Brenda’s house without wondering at the large number of EFree cars parked up and down the street. Inside were 35 of their friends!
Besides feasting on brisket, pasta salad, and a pretty fruit salad, Peter and I made little speeches, and John had a video message since he couldn’t leave Annapolis. Friends wrote memories in a little scrapbook, and we got my mom to share about their eventful first meeting (floorless car, the sound of machine gun fire, and people diving into snowbanks–my dad was (is) quite a character!).
Many thanks to Brenda for opening her home, to Molly for the amazing food, to the Shepherdsfield girls for the scrumptious cake, and to all our friends who came to celebrate with us!
Cammy-Peter-Grandpa-Grandma-Tommy-Derek-Em (and John in spirit)