Over the Hill He Went

The party's over........

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Husband went without a fight.........into that good night.........OVER the HILL!!

Did the "surprise" party live up to its billing, you ask. Yes, it certainly did; I was astonished at how the entire day's circumstances seemed to close ranks to protect the surprise intent of the party!!

Uncharacteristic for him, Husband left the farm for a couple of hours in the afternoon, giving me opportunity to fill coolers with pop and beer and hide them in the garage, and do some straightening up in the house, without him seeing.

When Husband finally got home and was safely secured away in the barn, milking, I could really get going on preparations, including the placement of this welcoming sign near the driveway.

I had told the guests to arrive around 7:30 p.m., thinking Husband would be done in the barn by then. Well, extra problems developed with a fresh cow, causing chores to run until past 8:00 p.m.! That meant cars full of guests were arriving while Husband was still in the barn. I directed them to park behind the house, and gather on the porch, opposite the side of the house which faces the barn. By then, though, I held out little hope that Husband had not seen at least a couple of the cars drive in.

I was trying to keep tabs on the guests on the porch and watch the milkhouse door for when Husband would exit it to come to the house. When he did, I nonchalantly sauntered out to meet him and try to assess whether he was aware of anything going on. To my great amazement, he said, "Well, I guess I could get cleaned up and we could go miniature-golfing." Cracking up inside, I calmly answered, "Ok, if that's what you want to do." Our son, who was leaving the barn, too, was trying to keep a straight face.

Husband headed to the basement to take a shower. When he finished, I knew he would walk up the steps wearing only his underwear, because that's what he always does. As he showered, I ordered the group on the porch to crouch down and be ready to jump up and yell "Surprise" when I gave the OK........which would be as Husband was coming up the steps, but BEFORE he got far enough for anyone to see his state of undress........they would hopefully see just his head!

So I stood there waiting, and then up the steps Husband came.......and at just the right moment, I motioned to the people on the porch and they jumped up and hollered "Surprise"!! (Really original, huh?)

Husband groaned and wheeled around in his tracks, heading back down to the basement. Out of the kindness of my heart, I tossed him a shirt and jeans to put on. (I did get a photo of him at the moment of surprise........please understand why I decided not to post it!)

Husband has five brothers.......two of whom live close enough to attend the party. Out of great love for their brother who's turning 50, they chose very appropriate and thoughtful gifts........as you can see in the photo below:

I didn't know there are Depends made just for men......did you know that? Also.....see the old buckaroo whose pants form a planter? He came from Father-in-law's house, and has become sort of a traveling birthday gift amongst Husband and his five brothers! Oh, yes, and that's a flower bouquet of PRUNES there on the right!

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Anyhow, the party was a smashing and "surprising" success!! Though the day had been hot and muggy, the evening was cool, breezy, and we all could sit outdoors and chat comfortably.

There were around 35 guests at the party. I think I mentioned earlier that I don't consider myself much of a party person, and last night I may have figured out one of the reasons for that. When my party involvement is as a host, I tend to be constantly scanning the crowd to see if everyone appears to be having a good time. I like to be able to give attention to each person, talk to them, look them in the eye......but that's often difficult to do in a large group, and then later I feel like I slighted this or that person. Its a rather paranoid way to be, I know, but I can't help it.

I tried to visit with most everyone, and keep up with whatever needed to be done in the kitchen. Two friends recently returned from travelling, and I greatly enjoyed hearing them tell about Ecuador and Spain! I suppose I knew this, but never really thought about it.......at the equator, days and nights are always equal in length......12 hours. My friend said, "The sun came up every morning at 6 a.m, and by 6 p.m., it was dark again." Its like that every day of the year!! She said the ancient Aztecs knew about the equator, the center of the earth.......I always must shake off the embedded idea that the only people in the world who had any scientific knowledge were the Europeans. I also learned that one of the favorite foods in Spain is HAM!! That was a surprise!

Yeah.......'58........it was a very good year!!