After the race, we headed back home. We were expecting a friend from out of town, Heather, to be over around lunch time, so we wanted to do a little cleaning. Then, Angie's phone rang.
Her cousin had been a passenger in a car hit by a drunk driver, and he was in the ICU. We immediately went to the hospital and spent a couple hours with Angie's family. Her cousin was on a breathing tube and heavily sedated. He had bleeding in his brain and a large cut on the back of his head that had to be stapled. Not good.
We all went to a pizza place nearby so her family could be away from the hospital for a bit. I really wanted pizza, but I resisted the urge and got a turkey sandwich instead. I saw everyone else eating desserts, and I almost got up to buy a piece of cake. I really wanted it, and I felt like I'd earned it after the morning's race. Then, Angie convinced me not to get it. She reminded me we'd be going to dinner with Heather and that might be a more appropriate time to indulge.
That should have been my first clue.
We parted ways with Angie's family and raced home to continue cleaning before Heather's arrival. She hadn't seen me since I lost the weight. That's always fun for me. She had lost some weight as well through a low-carb plan, but she informed us that she was off the diet for tonight and wanting pizza.
That should have been my second clue.
So, I suggested we go Waldo Pizza. If I'm going to splurge on pizza, I want it to be really, really good, and Waldo is the place to get good pizza.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess showed us to a table, but then another dude came over and said "That table is reserved." The other girl was like, "No, it's not," and then the guy said "YES, it is."
That should have been my third clue.
The guy showed us to another room. I rounded the corner and saw my mother pointing a video camera at me. Then I saw my dad. Then I saw a bunch of my friends. Then I heard "SURPISE!"
I stood there with my mouth hanging open. I'm sort of grateful I don't have any pictures of the event yet, because I'm quite sure I looked like a stunned idiot for a good ten minutes. I was speechless. I looked at Angie, who apparently had been planning my 30th surprise birthday party for about two months. She was so relieved that the secret was finally over.
I managed to make my way around the room and give everyone a hug. I just kept saying "This is CRAZY!" over and over. All the tables were decorated with pictures of movies that came out the year I was born. Superman, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Deer Hunter...you know, all the classics.
The awesome feeling was slightly diminished by the horrible pain Angie's family was going through. They had planned on attending the party, but they obviously couldn't because of the accident. They were definitely missed.
Despite the terrible thing that had happened, it was still a great party. It was so nice to have friends from all facets of my life, as well as my parents, meet each other. There was much pizza eating and beer drinking. Very, very much. It went on into this morning as well (not the beer drinking). I'm not going to feel bad about it. It was my 30th f-ing birthday party and I was going to enjoy myself, dammit. Angie was actually worried I'd be angry with her for having my party at a pizza place. Silly, silly girl.
It took a good 20 minutes before I was able to speak coherently. By that point everyone was directing my attention to a large video screen. Angie put together this wonderful video that brought happy tears to my eyes.
It was such a fun time. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend, family, or set of friends. To have everyone there meant so much to me. As more pictures or videos become available, I'll be sure to post them.
After the party we got a call from Angie's aunt. Her cousin was now breathing on his own and knew the answers to basic questions. He's still unconscious most of the time, though. It's still obviously a very serious situation, but things are looking up.
Technically, I'm not 30 until THIS Saturday, so I'm planning to ride that "I'm in my twenties" wave for 6 more days. I'm so happy that I got healthy and improved my lifestyle before hitting 30. I'll be more active and vital at 30 than I ever was at 25, or even 20. There are so many more things I can do now, and I'm not afraid of really living life. That's a great feeling.
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1 comment:
That is so awesome of everyone! And so extra fantastic that you had NO CLUE!
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