40th Birthday Surprises

I hadn’t planned on saying anything else about my 40th birthday, but I also hadn’t planned on having the surprise of my life either.

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this video I posted late Thursday evening. The video shows my husband recording me and telling me to turn off the TV. I have no idea why until about 5 seconds later when 3 of my BFF’s–who live far, far away–burst out into song while I flip out and scream off camera. These ladies came from Texas and Utah to surprise me on my 40th birthday and if you can’t tell by the video I was a wee bit stunned and delighted.

This here is my crew, my squad, my tribe and my people. I only knew them for a year and a half in San Antonio before we moved away, but you could say we clicked. Individually and collectively, we click. And if the above photo is any sort of prediction for the future and we end up living out our old lady years sharing a condo in south Florida, eating pie at midnight and talking about the good old days, that’s all right by me.

Let me tell you what’s it’s like having 3 of your best friends come out for a suprise birthday weekend. It is comfort food, but in friendship form. It is familiar and nourishing. It is laughing until you cry.  It is putting on a crazy red dress and a hilarious wig and belting out Dolly Parton within an hour of their arrival because these are the people who allow you to be you and girlfriend you’ve been holding it in for just a little too long.

It is staying up way too late every single night because you don’t want to miss a thing. It is talking about any and everything and feeling the freedom of being honest yet kind, candid yet thoughtful and knowing what you say will be taken in the best way possible.

It is LOVE. And love is showing up.

These ladies and my husband showed up for me big time this past weekend and I don’t think I’ll ever forget what that feels like.  Because as Maya Angelou said,

People will forget what you said. 
People will forget what you did. 
But people will never forget how you made them feel. 

And these amazing people made me feel LOVED.

And while my husband said getting them here was easy–all it took was an email and they were in–it’s never that easy when you’ve got flights to book, husbands to leave and kids who need watching and miss their mamas. And for my husband too, who took extra time to plan everything and manage the kids all weekend and let us girls hang out as much as possible and get our fill. That is showing up folks.

Here’s a little of what we did…

Missy made me a t-shirt that said 480 Months and had me pose with my baby blanket and my childhood Samantha doll. Brilliant!

Cincinnati was freezing but we went to some of my favorite places in the city,

I even dragged them down to the river where the temperature must have dropped another 10 degrees. There may have  even been a moment where we all threw coins into the river while everyone said what their wish was for me this coming year. I’m sorry, but you just can’t do that stuff with half-assed friends.

There may have even been a little kissing.

 And group photos galore.

A spontainous girls weekend wasn’t the only surprise. My husband put together this a m a z i n g book filled with letters and photos from friends and family. People from all different parts of my life–childhood, high school, college, jobs, married life, family. This actually took much more time and effort to prepare than the girls weekend surprise. It is a treasure and something I will cherish always. More people who showed up for me in that book. My husband even got a hold of my all-time favorite picture of me that I hadn’t seen in years and slapped it right on the cover.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to  top this or say thank you enough to my husband for knocking this one out of the park. But I will try to say thanks anyway…

Thank you so much dear Husband for an unforgettable 40th birthday weekend.
My heart is full.
My cup runneth over.
I have never felt so loved in all my life.

Mission accomplished.

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