| THE SURPRISE WEEKEND March 30 - April 1, 2001 |
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| Let me start off by saying that my Dad and I have been planning this since early January. We decided that we should do something special for Mom's birthday, but were not sure what to do. We had ideas of treating her to a bed and breakfast, but then all of you wouldn't have been able to participate, and it would not have been the same without you. It took a lot of people to pull this off, and to you who helped in the preparation and planning, we are eternally grateful. However, it is still amazing to me that as many people who knew, not myself nor anyone else let it slip that we were having a surprise party for her since there were three months for any slip-ups to occur. Thanks to everyone for making sure that she would not find out and sharing in this special event. |
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| DAY 1: Friday, March 30 Dad took Mom to work with him on the pretext of spending a nice day/evening away from home and having an excellent meal at Houston's. While Mom definitely deserved the time away, it also left the house open for all the conspirators to come and drop off anything they needed to, Adam to clean the house, and any decorating to be done the night before. Ron & I were flying out of Washington, DC, after work and were going to meet them at Houston's around 11ish. However, our flight plans went awry when we were delayed in Houston (how ironic). We ended up just making it to the restaurant at closing. As we were walking up to the door, we heard a voice from behind us saying, "They're closed." I knew the voice right away and turned around to see my Dad & Mom walking up the walkway towards us. Mom did a double-take and said, "You're not really here, are you? I'm going to wake up tomorrow and this is all going to be a dream." We assured her that we were really here and that we had flown in for her birthday. Characteristic of my Mom, her comment about us being there for her birthday was: "You know that you are getting old when your kids fly in for your birthday." She is too funny! Since it wasn't too late and shw was so excited that we were there, we went over to the bar in the Warner Center Marriott where we were all staying that night. We sat there and chatted for quite some time and I ate the left over ribs from Houston's. I have to say that they were fantastic! While we were sitting there, Terry let it drop that the reason I was here was to take her to The Ojai Valley Inn Spa on Sunday. I detailed the services that she was going to get: Yamaguchi Green Tea body treatment; Swedish massage; Healing Hands facial; spa pedicure; and, shampoo & blow dry. This served two purposes. One purpose was to let her look forward to the spa as the anticipation is part of the fun. The second purpose was to throw her off track if she did have any ideas about the party. We very subtly played up that the main reason I was there for the weekend was the spa. We finally parted ways with promises of brunch together in the morning if the parents could get out of bed. : ) |
| DAY 2: Saturday, March 31 Mom was unfortunately feeling a little under the weather so she lounged in her room until it was time to check out. Ron & I decided to go ahead and have brunch which was a perfect excuse for Dad to come down and see us so that he could call Adam to make sure that everything was going according to plan. When my parents did check out of their room, we still had some time to burn before being back at the house and had to think of reason to stall. Since Mom was not really up to too much activity and we were trying to save her energy for the evening, we had drinks in the lobby and wandered through a jewelry auction in the hotel. However, that still didn't burn enough time, as we were not expected at the house until 5:30. And we certainly did not want to surprise the surprisers. So Dad ingeniously though of the excuse. He told Mom that he wanted to get the van washed, so Ron & I took Mom to Price Club since it was across the street. We finally ended up at the house. Since everyone parked around the corner, Mom did not have any idea of what was in store for her. Dad blocked her from seeing around the corner while she took off her shoes, and when she walked around the corner, she was so shocked to see everyone standing there and the whole house decorated. The place looked great and there was all sorts of food in honor of Mom's great culinary skills putting off an incredible aroma! Everyone deserves special kudos for the food and great wines! Mom was so surprised by it and was a really trooper even though she felt bad. She socialized with everyone and opened all of her presents. She received all sorts of wonderful gifts, like a beautiful bracelet, fragrant candles, a painting straight from Hiroko's studio, and an incredible orchid plant. Below are a few of the pictures of the presents. Unfortunately, I was unable to get more pictures of them all. |
| The party finally started to wind down, and one by one each of the guests left. It was so nice having everyone around that we almost wished it did not have to end. But, Mom & I did need to get some sleep for our big day at the spa! While we intended on waking up around 7:30 am so that we could be to the spa early to enjoy the many extra amenities that it had to offer -- including a great wet sauna which was Mom's favorite -- we overslep. We barely had enough time to pick up a cup of coffee and only made it to the spa right before out appointment. I dropped Mom off at the front door and parked the car. When I walked in to the reception area, I found Mom writing a check for both my bill and hers! I could not believe my eyes. I put an end to that right away and paid for it. Since the bill I signed did not include gratuity, I gave them instructions when Mom was not in earshot not to take a single penny from her because her money wasn't good that weekend. I could detail the events of the spa here, but many of you would just get bored, or jealous because we had such a wonderful day. If you do want to hear about it, you are welcomed to email me and I will be more than happy to give you all the details or you can visit the spa's website to see everything they offer. However, let me say this: I believe that Mom truly enjoyed her day of pampering and lounging and being catered to. It is an experience that I would recommend to men as well as women because there is nothing like treating yourself to a day of luxury. You come out feeling like a new person! When we finally had to leave, we headed for a dinner of King Crab legs and tritip. Dad & I did all the cooking so that Mom's day wouldn't be ruined by having to do any work. What made everything even better is that Dad, Ron, Adam & Tom had completely cleaned up the house from the party the night before! While this may not have been the best weekend of my Mom's life, I sure hope that it ranks up there. She is really special to me, as she is to many of you, and I wanted to make sure that she felt as special as possible. |
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