Patty's Journey of Faith: SURPRISE!

About three weeks ago, Amy, Leslie, Samantha, and I decided to organize a surprise birthday party for Mom. We look for any reason to get together and celebrate, and I don't think Mom had ever had a surprise party before. So, we planned the party for Friday, January 20th at 7 p.m. at The Gypsy.

First and foremost, I want to apologize if you didn't get a personal invitation to join us. Because it was a surprise party, we found it difficult to find contact information for many people (without just calling and asking Mom). We did try our best but are cognizant that we likely forgot many people. Please do not feel slighted (instead just send your contact info to jennifer@bzuberlaw.com, and I will add you to future lists :).

So, after much planning and preparation, Friday arrived, and, with Pat's help, we got Mom to The Gypsy. I don't think she knew ANYTHING was awry until she pulled up to The Gypsy. Regardless, she definitely wasn't expecting 50+ people upstairs! We had some of the best cupcakes in this world (try them yourself at Eat Sweet Treats - and no, we are not getting paid to endorse Mrs. Julie Hill!), Mom's favorite punch, a few hors d'oeuvres, and various photos of Mom from 1965 to now.

When the girls and I decided to plan the party, I texted Donita Schrey on the off-chance that she was going to be in town (Re-read Donita's influence on our/Mom's lives here: A Visit With Dr. Goswami or here: You Finally Get To Hear From The Patient). She quickly replied that she wouldn't be able to make it, so you can imagine my surprise when she called Thursday evening. The conversation went a little like this, "Jennifer, Dr. Goswami and I have been trying to figure out a way to get down to Olney to surprise your Mom for her party. Unfortunately, I'm on call in Springfield, and he's on call in Decatur. We are so sorry we can't be there, but Dr. Goswami would like to Skype with your Mom to wish her happy birthday...Do you know how to do that?" My reply was, "I don't know how to do it, but I will figure it out!!" My mother-in-law, Karen, brought her laptop in town, and after some minor issues, Dr. Goswami was live on the computer at 7:30. Mom walked in and was totally taken aback. Amy captured her reaction on video, and it was priceless. Yet another reason we love Donita and Dr. Goswami so much. :)

In spite of the weather (which was incredibly icy), a good time was had by all, especially Mom. Thank you to everyone who was able to get out and be a part of the surprise!!

You can see Amy's blog post re: Mom's Party here: http://ruskfam.blogspot.com/2012/01/moms-surprise-birthday-party.html