(Note: I wrote this on Word while at the college, but once home this program wouldn't accept the copy and paste miracle, so I am doing the copy and paste the old fashioned way...I printed it, and now I am re-typing it. So, pretend this is written in "real time", then copied and pasted on Katie's Real Day, Feb 5!!! Enjoy....)
Katie's Surprise....Phase I Feb 4, 2009
This is so much fun!! I'm sitting in Alex's dorm right now, at his desk, while he is in the chow hall having dinner. The first phase of "Katie's Surprise" is complete--I've made it to their college with time to spare. (I am writing this on Microsoft Word, then I'll copy and paste once I get home tomorrow and can get online to access my blog. *****see note above****)
I spoke with the Administrator/Leader of the Christian Fellowship group today, and he is ready to assist us with Phase II of our Plan. Alex has Worship Team Band practice before the meeting, so once he is finished at the dining hall (he and I call it the chow hall because we are so used to Civil Air Patrol stuff!!), he will come back to his dorm to pick up his guitars and we will head over to the Student Hall where there is another dining hall; that's where they hold their meetings. Anyway, I'll go into a room off the dining hall and wait until the middle of the meeting, at which point the Admin/Leader (Chuck) will tell Alex he has to talk to him about a Bible Study Alex is leading, and they will come in, get me, the cake, the flowers and my little present for Katie, and we will go back in the meeting and surprise her!!!!!! YAY!!!!! I can't wait. There has been so much planning going into this, and for quite a few weeks now. We were going to surprise her on her actual Day, but since she is so pressed for time, and Alex is so pressed for time, and what little bit of time either of them had free on her Day didn't coincide, then the next plan was to surprise her a day early!!!!!!! I'll spend the night in her room, and in the morning it will be her actual Day, so I will still have been with her on her Precious Day!!!!!!
I tried to be convincing when I told her I had to work an overnight at Walmart. She also knows I hardly ever miss a squadron CAP meeting (in addition to being on the Wing staff, I am still very actively involved in my local squadron, where I started my CAP "career"), so I hope, hope, hope she doesn't suspect anything tonight. I also had to call the RA (Resident Administrator) of her dorm to let him know I'd be staying overnight. He hasn't called me back yet (cell phones are great), so I hope it's OK. I'll sign in once we get back from the meeting. I've done this before, so I'm sure he knows me.
My mother, who lives with me, stayed up until 4AM to make Katie her famous, made-from-scratch homemade (I know that's a redundant statement) cake. Then, she had to double the recipe to make sure it will be enough to feed everyone. It's a huge cake!!!!!!! Since there can't be any open flames on Campus, in order for Katie to have "flames" on her candles, I bought shiny star confetti and glued a star on either side of the candle wick, so they would "shine". Sometimes the glue didn't want to work right away, so I had to sit there and hold it until it "set". I did this when I came home from a three hour Wing Staff meeting last night, plus the driving time. Katie knows how much I am NOT a "crafty" person, and to sit there and do that took extreme will. But, my sweet girl is so worth all of this and so, so much more. The cake looked delicious this morning when I put it in the car, and it smelled heavenly!! My mother went through so much to do that cake for her. Between her making the cake in spite of severe arthritis pain, and me gluing those stars on the candles one by one by one by.......well, Katie knows she's loved, and that's why we do these things. It's 1735 (5:35), and Alex will be back from chow any minute. So, I'll continue this posting/writing once Katie's Surprise is finished. I hope she's surprised. This is so much fun. I think I've said that already. Ha ha.
Katie's Surprise Phase II--Complete!!!! Still Feb 4
To say she was surprised would be an understatement. She was speechless!!! It was awesome. Alex and I went over to the Student Center and into one of the small lecture rooms where they hold their meetings. Since we were early, of course, Katie wouldn't be there for about another 45 mins or so. Chuck took me to the end of the hall where there was a small alcove with a tall round table and two chairs under a coat rack (an open closet type thing built into the wall)....which was right across from a bathroom!! Keeping in mind that this was a very small alcove/hallway off the main hallway which led to the meeting room. Also keep in mind that right across from the little hallway/alcove where I was perched was a glass door leading to the road that Katie would travel to get to the main door of the building. However, from looking out of this doorway, I could look up the street and across the intersection to her dorm, so I knew once her light was out she'd be heading to the meeting. That created a dilema and a lot of anxiety....if she didn't use the main door, but chose instead to get out of the cold faster and use this particular glass door, then she'd come in and see me. Well, being legally blind she'd have to know she was looking for me, but it would have been just my luck that this one time her "spidey senses" would kick in and she'd somehow know I was there, tucked in a corner, hiding from her. However, I watched as she passed by "my" door and continued on to the main one. Whew!! That crisis was averted. Also, I just had to hope she didn't have to use the "little girl's room" before we were able to pull this off.......
Now, I just had to wait for Chuck to come out of the meeting. He had said it would be about 20 mins after the meeting started, so I just waited. Well, I didn't "just wait". I had my camera with me, of course, so I did what I always do when I'm bored....I took pictures. This time the cake, flowers, and present were my victims. As I was waiting, though, every time someone came down the hall, they looked at the cake, and I was so worried that it was someone from her Fellowship meeting and they'd go back and say, "Hey, cool, there's some crazy lady hiding out down the hall under the coat rack and she's got a really cool birthday cake!!!!" Fortunately, that didn't happen. I don't know everyone in her group so I couldn't warn them within an inch of their lives not to say anything.....since I don't want to threaten the innocent!! Ha ha.
Finally, the time came for the Plan to be put into action. Ahhh....here comes Chuck. I get up from my chair, ready to hand Alex the flowers, cake, etc. Ummmm....where's Alex?? The answer? "I didn't want it to seem obvious if we both left at the same time, so I came out to get you." No. That's not how the script was supposed to go. Oh, my. This is not good. As I write this, it's been a few hours, and my mind has been saturated with cake, so I can't remember if he said Alex was going to follow in a minute or if he had to go back in and get him. Oh, I'm pretty sure he went back in and got him. Anyway, Alex eventually landed, somehow, in the main hallway with us. I handed him the cake and the flowers. Cute pictures. Then I handed him the present. Even cuter picture. Then, we went in as everyone was finding their seats after an "ice breaker" game. They all looked at Alex and me as we came in...well, I think it was more the sight of a 6'2" man carrying in a bunch of pink and purple wildflowers and a cake that they focused on!!!!! Then, they saw me and before they could say anything (you know, "Strange woman invading" or "Hey, she doesn't have cake, throw her out!!") I put my finger to my lips in the centuries-honored motherly tradition, also known as "if you say anything after all my hard work and secretiveness, I'll throw you head first into the biggest snow bank I can find and make sure they don't find you until Spring!!!" It worked. No one said a word (ahhhh......the power of motherhood), and Katie was blissfully unaware of us even being in the back of the room/in the doorway because she had been finding her seat when we entered and would have no reason to look toward the door. She likes the meetings, so she generally has no reason to plan an early escape.
Once everyone was pretty much settled, I led Alex (for anyone who doesn't know him, he is also legally blind, but more so than Katie--well, in a different way--so him heading up an aisle by himself carrying cake instead of his white cane would NOT be a good thing...) up the middle aisle, to where she was sitting in the middle of the middle of the middle (got that?). All eyes were upon Alex and me, and she still had no clue (lack of peripheral vision has its advantages when executing surprises!!) we were there until I started singing Happy Birthday. The whole Fellowship "congregation" joined in, and after the first note, she noticed me, with camera and therefore flashes going off, and she noticed her dear brother standing near her with a huge cake and flowers. She was so red!!!!!! It was great!!! She was smiling and trying to talk at the same time...."you...he.....what.....you....you....you're here!!! At the meeting....I can't believe you're at the meeting....you....you..." I think she was trying to tell me something!! ha ha. It was wonderful. I've never seen her that speechless. Alex handed her the flowers, cake, and present, and we went to the back of the room to put everything on a table, ready to be cut and served after the meeting. We had a few worship songs, which is where Alex and the other two guitarists (he plays the bass in the "band", but he can also play all three types of guitars..bass, acoustic, and electric), then the guest speaker, who gave a presentation on the power of prayer and why it's so important, etc., then we cut and ate the cake. It was delicious!!!!
Now, I'm sittng in Katie's bed while the poor baby sleeps on the floor, so I'm still going to be with her on her actual Day. Hey, it just turned 12 midnight--excuse me for a moment while I sing Happy Birthday to her!!! Be right back......
So, now my world is complete. I just sang my precious, sweet, darling, God-given angel of a daughter Happy Birthday while she sleeps on the floor of her dorm. A lifetime away from where we were 22 years ago, but what a wonderful journey it's been. After I sang to her, she barely mumbled, or groaned I should say. It sounded an awful lot like: mmmm....mm.....mmmmmm.. then a thank.....you....mmmmmm. I think she was actually saying, "Mom, PLEASE turn off the light so I can get some sleep!!! I have classes tomorrow!!" Yup, I know, Katie-girl. I love you, too.
In the morning, she, Alex, and I will go down to Dunkin Donuts with real candles and a real lighter, order bagels, donuts, etc (and COFFEE!! YAY!!). I'll put the candles in her bagel, light them, she'll make a wish (probably that she can get some sleep sometime during the day). blow out the candles, and we will have concluded with the time-honored festivities that make up every one of their birthdays. Candles in the breakfast food, wax dripping onto the edible parts, while I take tons of pictures. Ahhhh...traditions--gotta love 'em!!!!
Happy birthday, my sweet angel. I am so much more than blessed to have you as my daughter. I love you. MOM
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