The last few weeks of my life have been consumed with details planning a Surprise Birthday Party for my husband.  We pulled it off Saturday night with 100 of his closest friends and family. All our guest beds were full after the party as well as six rooms at an inn near our home. We hosted a brunch for 17 at our home Sunday morning, before everyone started their long drives home.

I feel so relieved that it is over…all the lies and deceit can now start going back into my fiction rather than ruling my life! (I’d had my dress clothes packed in the car for a couple days.) Saturday morning I pretended to drop a chocolate eclair on him and smear it on his trousers, in order to get him to change into a pair of black ones that would be more appropriate for the party without rousing his suspicions…I took a necktie in my purse for him to put on later.

I had our minister’s wife call me Saturday afternoon with an SOS call for help serving at a funeral dinner at the church late Saturday aft. I pretended to cry for the passing of a ficitonal lady and said, “It’s a shame, she attended our church for sixty years and when she dies, noone even has time to honor her life…” Then he said, “Well if you’re really short, I could come help in the kitchen too.” Yikes!! I really had friends meeting me to decorate.  His daughters came up with a scheme to get him to the party and it was a wonderful evening.

After the shock wore off, he said it was the best day of his life to be so honored by so many of the people he cares about the most. He was roasted and toasted and heard all the things that are usually said after a person is gone.

Happy Spring to all of you…and please keep reading. No matter how busy I am, I read at least one book a week, usually two.  And if you are not a member of a Reading Group or Book Club, please find one to join or start your own, you only need about six people committed to giving it a try. Check online or with your local librarian for guidelines on how to start one. It’s great fun to talk about books you’ve read with your book friends!