The cone of silence can now be lifted

Since January my sister Debbie and I have been working on a project that I haven't been able to blog about.  I can now finally talk about all the details since it was a surprise for our parent's 40th wedding anniversary.

Debbie and I decided that instead of taking Mom and Dad on a trip for their anniversary or throwing a big party for them, we would do a Life on Record for them instead.  All of Mom and Dad's friends and family were given a dial-in number where they could call in and leave a message for Mom and Dad wishing them a happy 40th anniversary.  They could also tell stories, do a toast, talk about favorite memories, etc.  After all the recordings were collected they were burned onto a CD for them to listen to.  (Side note: a great big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who participated in the CD.)

Over the years Mom and Dad have lived in Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, Arkansas, and Wisconsin.  Combined they also have a large family that is spread from coast to coast.  Add in all the military contacts of Dad's that have also moved on to different states and you end up with a lot of loved ones that wouldn't be able to wish Mom and Dad a happy anniversary in person.  A gift like this was a perfect idea for them.

The end result was a two-disc set with 76 tracks on it.  I believe it was approximately an hour and a half total and included people from 15 different states.  Mom and Dad LOVED it.  We didn't give them the track listings until after they listened to it so they had no idea who was on the CD and every new track was sort of like "name that tune" to figure out who was talking.  It was great fun to listen to the CD.  There were also a number of "blasts from the past" on there that really surprised them.

But the surprises didn't stop there.  Debbie had also arranged to take Mom, Dad, and Grandma B out to a fancy brunch on their anniversary as a joint anniversary/mother's day event since Mom and Dad will actually be out here in Boston for Mother's Day.   What Mom and Dad didn't know was that I flew in from Boston to join them and we also rented a limo.  Despite a little snafu where the limo driver went to pick up Mom, Dad, and Grandma before picking up Deb, Mark, and I, it all worked out well.  Mom and Dad were VERY surprised when the limo showed up at their door and were also very surprised when I walked out of Debbie's house to go to brunch with them.  It really threw them off because the day before I had been posting about the Derby party at the Walker's as though I was there.  I really did talk to Jake about the horses in the morning.  It was just over the phone instead of in person.  Lincoln sent me the picture from his cell phone so I just posted it on the blog as though I had taken the picture.  If you go back and read all of my posts about the Derby I never actually said that I was attending the party.  Just that I've gone every year and that I was betting on certain horses.  I never actually lied about anything....just implied certain things.  I'm pretty tricky that way.  

Anyway...back to Mom and Dad's anniversary.

Mom and Dad were very excited about the limo.  I didn't realize that Mom and Dad had never ridden in a limo before (not even at their wedding) so that was a great treat.  Deb, Mark, and I had gone to the store the day before and gotten champagne and orange juice so we had mimosas in the limo as we drove to West Seattle for brunch.  It was a nice sunny day and the drive takes about 30-40 minutes so it was great to visit and have some champagne.  After a very nice brunch at Salty's (more food than any person should ever have the opportunity to gorge themselves on in one sitting) we headed back to the house.  Debbie and Mark had to go home and let Cooper out but I went to Mom and Dad's house to listen to the CD with them.  Deb, Mark, and Cooper came over a little while later.  I had heard every recording as they had come in but it was great listening to it with Mom and Dad and watching them light up with every new voice that played.  As soon as they identified a person they could often guess what story would be told.  You could tell just by watching them that they were loving every moment.  Of course Dad rolled his eyes every time someone commented on how wonderful his daughters are but that's just Dad's way of saying "I love you".

In the end it was a GREAT anniversary celebration for Mom and Dad who really hadn't had any plans other than the brunch.  I think it meant a lot to them that we turned it into such a big deal.

As for me, I was a little exhausted yesterday but I'm feeling much better today.  I flew out to Seattle on a 9 p.m. flight Friday evening and took the red-eye back on Sunday night.  I arrived in Boston at 7:40 a.m. yesterday morning and went straight to the office.  I actually made it until 5:30 p.m. before heading home so I only cut out 30 minutes early (with my boss's permission).  

I did, however, give away my secret over brunch about how you can tell when I'm working on something secretive by watching when my blog postings drop (or become utterly mundane).  It happened with Tracy's surprise for her 40th birthday and again with Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary.  When my life becomes consumed with secretive things I can't write about I start to struggle for "material". Debbie's 40th birthday is next March so if the blog goes on hiatus you'll know I'm up to something.