Birthday Surprise

My 30^th birthday passed without much fanfare.  JD was working that weekend, so I just relaxed at home with the baby.  I’m not one to ask for a big celebration in my honor, but I was a little bummed that I hadn’t planned something fun since it was a milestone birthday.  I’ve been so focused on life as a new mom, that my birthday kind of snuck up on me.  It wasn’t until the day had arrived that I realized I wanted to celebrate in a big way… and felt it was too late.  Little did I know JD had been working on something for over a month.

I left work Friday, and made my way down to the parking garage.  I’d driven JD’s car that day, his beloved Charger.  I did a double take when I saw the car.  There was something red on the hood.  I immediately went into a panic, thinking someone had vandalized it.  In JD’s world, it goes 1. Our daughter 2. His motorcycle 3. His Charger 4. Me (maybe- it’s a close call between me and the iPad), so  any damage to his precious car is detrimental.  As I got closer, I realized the red was actually rose petals.  A smile crossed my face.  There were a dozen roses on the front seat of the car, and a card confirming that they were from JD (and not some creepy stalker).  Inside the card was a note telling me that he’d scheduled a massage for me in a half hour, and that my “next set of instructions would be at home.”

I was elated, not only had I been desperate for a massage that week, but I knew there would be more after the massage.  I love my hubby, but he’s not exactly a planner, so I had no idea he had that kind of foresight.  Plus, I work a half hour away from our house, meaning he had to load the baby in the car and drive an hour out of his way to deliver the roses and card.  I smiled the entire way to my massage, anxious to find out what was planned for me after. 

After an absolutely fabulous massage, I went home to find no husband and no baby, but a note on the front door telling me to “hurry upstairs!”  I went into the kitchen to quickly put my roses in water and paused, noticing that the house was suspiciously clean.  Like, Jenny-style, meticulously clean.  I was, once again, impressed.  JD and I have different standards of cleanliness, so if I can come home and say “Wow, this house is spotless,” he must have done a super thorough job.

When I got upstairs, there was a new dress laid out on the bed (actually, 2 dresses so I could pick which size fit better), along with a necklace and pair of shoes he’d pulled out of my closet to complete the outfit.  It was starting to feel a little surreal.  This is the man who wears navy and black together and thinks his Loch Ness monster t-shirt is appropriate for date night, and he’d gone shopping for me, picked out a really cute dress, and picked appropriately matching shoes and necklace… what?  Lying next to the dress was another note with an address and time to meet him. 

When I arrived at the restaurant (Cheesecake Factory, yum!), about a dozen of my friends were there, plus my sister who’d driven up from Atlanta.  JD had dressed up and put Loralai in a cute dress.  Sangria + yummy dinner + cheesecake + fabulous new dress + some of my favorite people = the ultimate way to celebrate my 30^th.

My only regret is that we didn’t take any pictures!  I snapped a few quick ones with my phone of the setups he left for me, but we didn’t think to take ANY pictures at dinner, which is a huge let down!

Later, when I was filling a friend in on the details (lives out of state, so couldn’t be there), she told me that it “sounded like something out of a romantic movie.”  It was so true, and I can’t get over all the little details JD thought of.  It’s refreshing to be surprised by your spouse once in a while.  Guess he’s more romantic than I gave him credit for… Loch Ness Monster shirt and all.