I am FORTY!

That's right...I am officially over the hill (but better than under it!). I reflected on this milestone birthday in a post I wrote for the Memphis Mom Collective, which can be found here:

https://memphis.momcollective.com/emotions/this-is-40/

In that mostly introspective post, I briefly mention the sweet surprise backyard party Jon and the kids threw that day, so the purpose of this post is to share the details of our celebration. Like I wrote, I really and truly was concerned about how to mark the occasion; I mean, I went skydiving for my 30th, so I had to do something special to usher in this new decade. The stupid pandemic robbed me of my original plan, which was to go on a cruise with my mom, who also celebrated a milestone birthday this year. Hopefully we are able to do a make-up trip sometime soon.

But what to do? Things were still kind of weird with the pandemic, and planning something outdoors is always dicey in early December. So, I gave myself some grace with my expectations and decided on a low-key day that included playing at the park with Erik, a much-needed hair appointment, and lunch at the new taco truck on the corner that serendipitously opened that very day.

Fancy hair!

Park time!

 

Serendipitous tacos!

Jon was working from the house, so while Erik was napping after lunch, he left to run some errands. I settled in with a warm beverage and a new journal and even spent some time reading in the sunshine before picking up the girls at school.

 

My happy place

Well, the girls had a surprise up their sleeves. As soon as we got home, they invited me out for tea and macarons at a bakery not far from our house. In addition to funding this venture, Jon gave them strict instructions to be home by a certain time so we could go out to dinner at a unspecified location (my request was to not have to plan my own birthday dinner).

What a treat!

We had a lovely time taking advantage of the unseasonably warm day and enjoying our treats. Suddenly, Elsa declared that it was time to go. Of course, that was the moment Lena decided she did need to use the restroom after all, so we got a semi-frantic phone call from Jon on the way home telling us to hurry because of our "dinner reservations."

However, instead of dinner, what he had actually planned--with the help of some very cute and willing accomplices--was a surprise party on our deck/patio with many Memphis friends/neighbors. I may or may not have gotten a little dust in my eye; we were in the backyard, after all.

I really and truly was touched by all the love that I felt. That Jon and the kids knew I wanted a surprise party (before I even realized that's what I wanted) and then pulled it off without a hitch meant so much to me. There was lots of food, plenty of beverages, the neighbors' firepit, and an '80s playlist...and I didn't have a clue about any of it. Being able to celebrate with friends made the day so much more festive and fun. So much fun in fact, that the only picture I took of the whole thing was of the friend who embraced the '80s theme all the way to her rocking side ponytail.

Basking in the glow of the party the night before, we rounded out my birthday weekend with a family trip to an indoor trampoline park, the most '80s venue I could think of (that would also allow me to prove that I'm not that old yet). We had a blast...never mind that I was sore for days.

What a way to start my 40s. I set the bar pretty high, though, so I'd better start planning now for the big 5-0!