Yesterday, we pulled off the surprise party for Sue’s Mom. First, our daughter surprised her at her door by showing up with our son for her birthday dinner at our house. She just “decided” to come home for the weekend. Then, they escorted her back to our home for her real surprise.

Finally in the kitchen, the surprise guests started coming out from the living room one couple at a time. It took just one couple coming into view for the tears to start. Needless to say, she was taken completely off guard by every single visitor. There were children, grandchildren, one great grandchild, and a long time friend helping in the celebration. Sue’s Mom was in tears early and often, and couldn’t believe that all of this was for her. Needless to say, she was very, very happy.

We got to spend some quality time with one of our nephews and his family for the first time in almost three years. That was a hectic trip to Georgia over Christmas that included an 18 hour, single day drive for my family (never again). We always get along with them and can pick up our conversations as if they never stopped. Their son is looking at Berklee College of Music in Boston, so they combined the visit here with one at Berklee the following day.

Since the surprise party didn’t start until 3 PM, we cooked breakfast for everyone that was in town. Sue made the bacon and biscuits in the oven, and I provided made to order eggs including some pretty good omelets for everyone. The party included multiple entrees to satisfy everyone, and each was able to be kept warm in a crock pot or warming tray. I finally got to put my rice cooker to good use. While it’s not practical for a normal dinner, it worked perfectly for a large quantity of rice that needed to be kept warm for hours. I had such high aspirations for that rice cooker when I bought it, but it was rarely used until this party.

So while the party went off without a hitch, we were simply exhausted when it was done. We finally got to sit around 10:30 PM and both of us simply collapsed. We had both been on our feet since early morning, running around all day. Today, Sue gets to drive our daughter and roommates back to college (7+ hours), and I get to rake and move leaves to the curb all day. With leaf pickup scheduled for tomorrow or Tuesday, it just needs to get done. At least Hurricane Sandy blew most of the leaves off from the trees, so this should be a once and done effort for the year. For now, I’m just drinking my coffee and content with the thoughts that my Mother-in-law is the happiest she has been in many, many years.