not at all suprising...

...is how the Birthday Surprise went. In recent years her sister and I have conspired to unexpectedly appear for celebrating. But this time there was no surprise involved. Not by any stretch due to my lack of effort, but mostly due to constraints of employment.

Over recent years, we have been able to plot getting to Chattanooga prior to the actual date. But F. could not get there before Friday. Which was a day after the actual birthday... not all bad, as I was busy convincing myself she would never, ever suspect us of appearing well after when she would suspect us of appearing as part of the well-plotted surprise. She is a remarkably good sport about being surprised, and has tolerated any number of marginally amusing pranks over the years with a large helping of good humor.

This year circumstances prevented us from popping out of a huge, wrapped in-birthday-paper box wearing party hats. Or jumping out of the closet, with great enthusiasm shouting 'Happy Birthday!!!' Or just casually wandering into the work place, conveniently at lunch time, to ask if she would like to join us, while humming the tune to the Birthday Song.

 I choose to believe she has not wised up to our sneaky ways. So there is hope (though narrowly defined, due to history of underhandedness occurring, with friends and family roped in to collude on craftiness, with amusing conspiring) we might pull something off in the future. This one was inadvertently above-board. We had to involve the Birthday Girl in the plans to assure her availability. But it was a sweet time of getting together. Family. Yep: that's it.

C.'s uncle, J., always up for good fun, was along for the burgers and fries at the eatery downtown. We arrived just before the rains, and enjoyed a good meal together. Eating outside, under a canopy in a café/sports bar, converted from a former life as a service station, so we ate outdoors under the awning, where the pumps aren't. It rained heavily while we were there, but other than a steady stream of water running across the concrete apron, we remained dry.

P. showed us that she still knows how to ride a bicycle when we got back to the house: her birthday present was a bright pink bike. Riding up and down the street, in great circles, hoping to not unbalance, crash, embarrass herself or have need of health insurance. Reminding me of (for those of you who are old enough to have seen the movie: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) Paul Newman, singing and biking, riding around the house in circles, with Robert Redford and Kathrine Ross inside.

I woke up Friday morning, realizing I did not have a birthday cake to take, plus no flour in the house with which to bake. But did have the ingredients for a giant chocolate chip cookie. Which I have made dozens of times over the years when they were young, still at home. I would make it on a pizza pan, from a cake mix. And take to school for them to share with friends over lunch. Nothing quite like being the center of attention on one's birthday: and having something as tasty as a big cookie to make every one circle around in hopes of a wedge!

We had a bite or two of cookie, then got back in the car to drive back to Decatur. Stopping before we got on the highway to buy gas: $2.95/gallon. Fell into bed about 9:30.