surprise! surprise! surprise...

Our family historically does this 'meet in the middle' thing where people who want to see relatives will call and say: "Meet me at _ _ _ _", which is usually half way between homes. Over  my growing up years, the halfway point between living down near the FL line and the people who were distant was at the hotel in Perry, GA, where we would meet relatives for lunch and sit around in a beautifully maintained, lushly planted area around the pool, behind the main building. We would have lunch in their restaurant, then go and enjoy the sunshine, scenery and fellowship for a couple of hours before parting and going our separate ways.

Many were the times I would load up little people and make the trip to Albany, about halfway between home and  grandma's house - ninety minutes south - to meet parents at the mall or park and have a little family picnic. Dozens of times, we would go to the mall, dance around with excitement to see Mema and Papa, and get in the lunch line at Morrison's Cafeteria to order weird meals: blue jello squares and mashed potatoes and fried okra and chocolate layer cake. Whatever makes grandchildren happy delights grandparents as well. Lots of picnics on those scratchy concrete benches at Chehaw Park, with deviled eggs and strawberry shortcake, made from scratch.

This current generation keeps up the tradition. Halfway between here and there is Newnan, where we meet and eat. Occasionally going to find a park to go for a walk on paved trails, or just going to sit on a bench and have a little lap-lunch picnic (don't mention the fact that the bench is likely to be in a cool, quiet, peaceful, shady spot in the cemetery!). The meeting place today was Cracker Barrel - where you can always, always depend on one particular individual to invariably order the 'Uncle Herschel' plow-hand breakfast. At any time of the day, and then go take a nap instead of out to plow the back forty.

The best part of lunch/brunch was the company. Not only did the one I expected show up, with her smiling face all a-glow - but she had her sister in tow! Completely unexpected, especially when you consider the planner/instigator is the one who cannot keep a secret for love nor money. She being the girl that has to give birthday and Christmas gifts the minute she buys them because she cannot wait, and hold her excitement for extra minutes or days. So pleased with her choices and so enthused about gift giving that the 'present' needs to be opened at the first possible moment. The idea that she could keep her mouth shut and hold onto the secret arrival of her sister probably surprised her as much as it did me!

Thanks! I'm still smiling!