We have a tradition in my house. It is called the Memory Jar. Inside of the clear Bormioli jar are thin slips of white computer paper. Every time something happens in our family that we want to remember we write it down and throw it in the jar. Every New Year’s Eve, my husband and I sit down together after the kids have gone to bed and we take turns reading them out loud.
I was 9 months pregnant with my daughter when I turned 30.
I told my husband, family, and friends that I wanted to celebrate on my 30 ½ birthday…when I could…actually enjoy the celebration, ya know? My husband told me he would plan something! So he started a Facebook event (that I wasn’t invited into) and started throwing out ideas. All I knew was the date and the time.
As the day got closer I asked my friends what I needed to wear for the party. Would I need to wear sneakers? Were sandals ok? Can I wear a dress? The advice I received was “flowy and comfortable…but nothing strenuous is happening”. I landed on a dress and comfy sandals.
The day arrived and I was spending a lot of time getting ready. My husband, Ben, assured me that he had childcare arranged but I was growing more and more concerned that he wasn’t getting ready. He had gone for a run earlier in the day, but he wasn’t making any attempt to get pulled together. The time to leave came and he called me over to the door (he was still in his running clothes) and I looked out the window and saw a…
LIMOUSINE
…and most of my best friends standing next to it. I looked at my husband in disbelief and then said “are you not coming?” (with a little pouty look…I’m still a little obsessed with being with my husband) and he replied “the guys will meet up with you all later”. So I headed out the door with him and he explained to me that my girls and I were doing a bit of a scavenger hunt. He had written out riddles and put them in envelopes that I needed to solve before the limo driver would leave (is that not the cutest thing you have ever heard in your entire life?!). He handed a bunch of envelopes to a friend of mine and then he opened the first one. He read it out loud and I guessed we were headed to a nearby town to pick up a few more of my friends. I was right and we headed out.
As we drove we cranked 90’s pop music singing at the top of our lungs to our childhood favorites! N*SYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears…the whole gamut. Our destinations included ]]my favorite sushi place, a Mexican restaurant, an ice cream stand, and finally the bowling alley. The boys (all the husbands) met us at the bowling alley where we did a round of bowling and then a game of laser tag.
BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER.
I still can’t believe my husband pulled off such a surprise. It was definitely a birthday party for the books. I’m v curious what he is planning for my 40th. Not sure you can top a limo ride with all of your best friends cranking nostalgic music and drinking wine.
Read More:
Memory Jar Slips: Don’t Mess With Propane
Memory Jar Slips: Chasing Birds
Memory Jar Slips: Date or Date?
