31 Write Now Birthday Surprise

I signed up to participate in the #31WriteNow blogging challenge. The challenge has one rule: blog every day from August 1st to August 31st. Since this is my first post of the month, clearly I am failing at this challenge. However, I learned that I can start now and continue from here. The main reason for not starting on August 1 is because that is my mother's birthday. This year was her 60th birthday and my siblings (twin brother, older sister) and I planned a surprise birthday party weekend for her.

We began the surprise by traveling from three different states (Texas, North Carolina and Indiana) to our hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Our plan was to be at the house when she got home. You know, just casually sitting around the kitchen talking, like old times. She happened to be off on Thursday, so our original plan was in jeopardy (damn sequester). To stay on track, my sister booked a her spa appointment get her out of the house for a few hours to allow us all time to travel. It worked and it was epic!

Check the video:

She was happy enough with just us all being home, but we weren't finished yet. We also planned a surprise birthday party at a great restaurant downtown - Southend Brewery. We invited 75 friends and family to honor her.  She thought we were just going to dinner, nothing special. When she walked up the stairs and saw everyone, she froze in disbelief. She had no idea. We had done it. We pulled off a huge surprise. I just knew someone would give it away, but everyone played their part and kept her on her toes. It was a great weekend. I feel so blessed.

More pics and posts to come.


-Run