Surprise of the Week

Most of the time, I don’t like surprises.



I don’t care if it’s my surprise birthday present hiding in the closet or the un-known gender of my 15 week old baby growing inside me. I like to know everything up front, but this doesn’t mean I don’t get surprised from time to time.

Because the counselor knows I don’t like surprises, he likes to play a game with me. Technically, it’s not as bad as a surprise, but it leaves me with the same “I’m not in control” feeling. It’s called the guessing game and it goes something like this:

“Guess who I saw at the store today?”
And he waits, with a mischievous smile on his face.

“I have no idea,” I say, somewhat wanting to care, but really, out of the 897-ish people we know, why would I want to guess?

“Oh come on”, he’ll say. “You know who it is. Think about it.”

And I try to think about it, after all, it’s important to him that I guess, but I just get frustrated, especially when I realize he forgot to buy the Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips I needed.

“Give me a clue,” I say, knowing this never works.

“Just think about it for a minute,” a gentle nudge sounding more like a request to cut off my left arm.

So, I unpack the groceries, always one to do something productive while I’m forced to do something unproductive, and I throw out names like pulling weeds.

The counselor’s much more patient than I, and he would like if I played this game with him, but he also knows when I’ve reached the end of the rope.

So after several minutes, he gives me the answer, and it’s someone I haven’t seen for over two years, a middle-aged man from a church we used to attend before we moved, a man I never associated with except for an occasional hello. I never knew his first name and his wife was always rude to me.

This is the person Derek saw at the store and I may have guessed who it was by the time the baby’s due in April.

So, you may be surprised to know I’m posting a Surprise of the Week.



What did I find this week at a thrift store or yard sale that really surprised me? Take a look.

I found this shirt at a thrift store on 1/2 off day and ended up paying $2.50 for it. The stitching was awesome and I loved the Disco Fever lyrics. The brand is JWLA and when I later looked on-line, I found these shirts sell for $129.00 new. I was tempted to sell, but I'm wearing it as we speak





This gorgeous dress was purchased by yours truly for $1.00. The brand, one I'd never heard of, is Ella Moss and the fabric is so rich and wonderful. When I looked it up on-line, I discovered it is an Anthropologie dress, selling for over $150.00 new. I listed it immediately and it sold for $26.00.



Other surprises I like are as follows:

Mayer surprises me as he comes out of my bedroom wearing the counselors headband and insists on wearing it to preschool.



Reef actually eats breakfast; a big surprise from this picky eater, but who wouldn't eat a home-ade cinnamon roll just from the oven.



And I actually surprise myself, when at the last minute I through together a Halloween costume for a neighborhood party: me as Mother Nature (Reef as Tigger).



And what a surprise, my kitchen floor is clean, for the moment.