Happy 60th Karen!

Last week, while The Professor was off work, we went to SC for a surprise birthday party for sister Karen's 60th birthday. Her daughters-in-law planned the whole event and did a wonderful job. They kept saying, "She knows. She won't be surprised. No one can ever surprise her, she already knows something's up."

But they were wrong - she really was surprised. Bill was clued in just a few days before, and he helped with the logistics of getting her to their church that evening. He told her some story about needing to sign a check or something. When she saw cars in the parking lot, she was very worried that they had forgotten about some church event. As they walked up to the building she could see in the windows and commented that it was a reception that they had missed. Then she saw someone "who didn't belong there" and she realized what was going on. So she was surprised until the very last moment.

Meantime, I made sure I wasn't visible through the windows, and The Professor was hidden too. She sheepishly walked in the door and looked around, acknowledging the guests. I watched as her eyes passed by me, and then she did a double-take as she realized it was me. That was lots of fun.

The family had put together a memory/tribute album for her with contributions from family and friends far and wide. I got a chance to look through it briefly, but not as much as I would have liked. I'm sure she will treasure it.

We enjoyed helping with the surprise, but even more, having the chance to visit with extended family that we hadn't seen in quite some time. Although we were given an invite to stay the night, we needed to head back home that same evening since The Professor hadn't brought along his very important RX meds.