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I actually thought I could avoid turning forty by not telling anybody I had a birthday
coming up and by making my family swear not to mention it to anyone. I made my husband
and teenage children promise not to even refer to birthday cakes, birthday parties, or
birthdays in any shape or form...and no birthday gifts.
Complete denial was my defense against feeling old. I’ve prided myself for years on
looking and feeling younger than my chronological age and still cherish the day a stranger
took me for my 17-year-old daughter’s elder sister. In fact, just the other day my
15-year-old son said if I told that story one more time he would have to conclude
that I’m becoming senile.
When the children were younger we always made a fuss over their birthdays, with lots of
birthday presents and parties and friends over, but now that they are in high school
they are less interested in birthday parties and more interested in receiving expensive
gifts like digital cameras, iPods and laptops, and the most we usually do was go out to
dinner as a family.
I carefully made arrangements in advance to go to our cottage for the weekend of my birthday;
just my husband and myself, and told the kids they would have the house to themselves.
Our cottage is about a 45-minute drive north on a small lake and very secluded and
quiet and my favorite place in the world. I was looking forward to the privacy and
rest and planned to entirely forget that there was such a thing as a fortieth birthday.
We got a very late start for the cottage on Friday as my husband had to work later than
he expected so we didn’t arrive to our lake property until just after dark. As we drove
the last mile through the thick woods over the winding narrow road leading to our cottage
door I heard the sound of crickets and enjoyed the quiet night.
As we parked and I started to gather our belongings and supplies, Jim told me to leave
everything for later and we should go for a walk down to the lake before it became completely
dark. That sounded like a romantic notion so I agreed happily.
As we rounded the house into the back yard the night was suddenly ablaze with lights and the
cheerful shouts of “Happy Birthday” and “Surprise” from at least thirty people who sprang out
from behind the trees and boathouse.
Not only were both of our children there plus my parents and my husband’s entire family,
but also our neighbors and many good friends. The whole gang had plotted this for weeks
behind my back and pulled off the perfect surprise.
Then out came the gifts. I have to give them all credit because not one gift or card had
the word forty or the number 40 on it...and nobody mentioned age at all.
The biggest gift of all my husband presented last and with great fanfare.
When I unwrapped it what I saw was a large framed original water color of our beloved cottage;
a beautiful autumn landscape, perfect in every detail. I was overwhelmed.
How could he have done this without my knowing?
It turned out that he had found a great website called www.paintyourlife.com
com and sent them a digital photo of our cottage.An obviously experienced artist had actually painted
an original watercolor true in every way to our cottage and its surroundings.
He told me that the whole ordering process had been surprisingly easy and the
shipment arrived in plenty of time to be a present for my surprise party.
I will treasure this beautiful watercolor forever, and I have to admit
that it actually even took the sting out of turning forty.
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