SURPRISES

Ordinarily I would say I really can't stand surprises. I've always claimed this - I don't like them, I don't want them. I like to know what's happening, I'd rather know it all than be surprised. Every year as a kid when Christmas rolled around, I'd beg and plead with my mom to tell me what she'd gotten me. A lot of times I'd even convince her that she should show me my presents before hand. She always managed to sneak in a couple of unexpected things, but I always knew about "the biggie" well before Christmas morning, then I'd feign surprise for my dad's sake when we opened presents.

Now as a grown-up, it's been almost impossible for Michael to surprise me. The last time it happened was when he pulled out all the stops and proposed. Which was seven years ago.

I confess there's this romantic part of me that has thought from time to time, wouldn't be amazing if he _____ (fill in the blank) - you know, like a surprise party, or a surprise getaway, or a gift of something I'd been wanting...but those thoughts are few and far between because a) my husband totally rocks in so many other ways, and b) I almost always end up finding out about a surprise before hand (poor Michael, he's tried so many times).

However, two nights ago he got me. Big time. His school has provided the teachers with new Apple Mac laptops, and he brought his home to show me. I "oohed" and "ahhed" over it and he showed me all the terrific things we could do on it. He asked me what I thought and I told him it was amazing. We'd talked on and off about getting me a new laptop and decided that once I finished my book (which is about 50-75 pages away from completion - eek!) we would go shopping to reward all the hard work.

So imagine my surprise after I reassured him that a Mac was totally what I would want (they're SO cool), he reached under our bed and pulled out a package and said, "Well, good. I got you one." For the first time EVER I was truly, utterly speechless - completely shocked - I hadn't had a clue. Apparently he'd taken Bennett the weekend before to the Apple store and picked it out for me, with thoughtful features that will help me with my writing. If you know my husband, you know that financially he is a planner and a saver and is VERY conservative (I love this about him, and for the most part we have this in common, but he's definitely more this way than I am), and he just doesn't do things that are unexpected, and he doesn't make big purchases without really sitting on them, processing, and considering. So it was extra special that he put all of his instincts aside to do something special for me and to make me feel so loved and appreciated. It really took me about five minutes to start talking again, and even then, I just kept saying, "I can't believe you did this. I can't believe you did this!"

So here I am, typing away on my new Mac, learning the ends and outs, and feeling very loved. Here's a shout-out to my man - he's pretty stinkin' awesome.