It's Our Party, and I'll Lie If I Want To

In the end, all my careful plans were undone by a large amount of beer.

I'm sure this has been true for countless people, but in my case, it was unusual not because alcohol was involved, but because the catalyst was beer, and not wine (or whisky). Of course I will explain (that's the whole point of a blog, right?)

A couple of months ago, I decided Chad and I should have a little shindig to celebrate our upcoming 20th wedding anniversary. The only wrinkle with this decision was that several months earlier Chad and I decided (note that both spouses were involved in this decision) NOT to do anything extravagant or complicated to celebrate our 20th. No vow renewal, no party, no wang dang doodle. Maybe next year, to celebrate our 21st anniversary, when our relationship would be old enough to drink (legal intoxication always a cherished milestone).

Well I'm all for a big 21st anniversary bash (warning: friends and family may be subjected to more hoopla next year) but I just couldn't let our 20th pass by with quiet dignity. I wanted to do something special and memorable. I had been daydreaming for a while about hosting a "living room" concert, but with the space restrictions of our house, not to mention the pet-wrangling and housecleaning that would be involved, that just didn't seem feasible. Luckily, as a Plan B., I could rent our church social hall. So my scheme to surprise Chad with a 20th anniversary was hatched...

As the big day approached, I got more excited and nervous. I was fairly certain that Chad would enjoy getting to spend some time with a few close friends, and I knew he would love a private concert by our very talented friend and music instructor, Ben. But in many ways Chad is a classic introvert, so having a social event of any type sprung on him could just end up stressing out my beloved, (which really isn't an ideal anniversary). Plus, the whole logistics of getting to Chad to the church for a surprise party seemed pretty complicated.

Chad looks surprised...in mostly a positive way!

Eventually, I decided to tell Chad about the party on the morning of the party. I figured this gave him enough time to adjust to the idea of the party, but not enough time to make me cancel it. And I decided to keep Ben's concert at the party a secret, so that something would still be a complete (and awesome) surprise. This plan was still a bit risky, as morning is not always a happy time for Chad and perhaps not the best time for him to learn about a party. But I figured I'd tell him after I gave him a present of a good bottle of whisky and hope for the best.

My plan went awry (FINALLY back to the copious amount of beer) due to a faulty calculation on my part. I placed an order for party food and beverages with our local  grocery delivery company, Coburn's Delivers, and the delivery truck arrived earlier -- and Chad stayed home later -- than I expected. As I stood there at the kitchen sink, looking at the delivery truck in the alley with a sinking feeling, I thought about trying to lie, er, I mean "act" my way out. "Ah, honey, there was just a great sale on beer, so I thought I'd stock up for the summer..." If the delivery was excessive amounts of wine, I could have easily told Chad it was just a day, but beer?

So, since it was only two days before the party, I decided to just go for it. "So, ah, honey..." I smoothly started, "...you seem like you're in a good mood this morning, so it's a good time to tell you: we're having a party tomorrow!"

There was an intense look. But I assured Chad that the party was not at our house, and not that many people were invited, and Chad quickly seemed okay, and even slightly bemused, with the whole idea. And then he asked, (because I always screw up the date...but never this much), "You know tomorrow's not our anniversary, right?" 

In the end, we had a lovely evening. (A huge thanks to everyone for their well wishes, and to everyone who was able to come!) And, I think the party was a good metaphor for the 20 years of our marriage...surprising, heartwarming, and only slightly pain-in-the-ass-ish.

Epilogue: Chad did eventually get a good bottle of whisky (Michters Toasted) and tickets to a John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett concert.