Tom’s “Revenge”

Can you stand one more post about gift-giving among my family members?

Of course you can! You know you love it — reading about other people surprising loved ones with unexpected gifts. And if not, you ought to!

You know how Amy strung Tom along during their Christmas gift opening, whining about how she had tried SO hard to get him the Xbox 360 he’d wanted, but... And then she sprung it on him after he had consoled her.

Well, over a year ago Amy had bought herself an expensive Nikon digital SLR camera with a couple of lenses, a nice camera bag and accessories. She had researched the market thoroughly, settled on exactly what she wanted, spent over $1,000 on it and was very pleased with the pictures she was able to take with it.

And just so you’ll know, Amy is a professional with Adobe Photoshop, literally. She uses that software routinely for her job in graphic design. So although her camera outfit would not be termed a professional one, it was definitely high-end consumer.

Long story short not quite so long, last July during a vacation trip the camera bag disappeared. Camer, bag, lenses, filters, accessories... all gone! In the confusion of waiting for a flight at O’Hare nobody knows if the camera was left behind, lifted by a passerby, left on a plane, or...?? Bottom line, it was GONE.

Amy was distraught. She and Tom would have to save up to manage another purchase like that one. It wasn’t going to happen any time very soon, she knew. She mentally kicked herself all around her apartment for losing track of it.

Well, Amy turned 30 in December. She was out of town (work) for several weeks just before her big day, and two good friends of theirs (Rob and Daryl) were coming to visit just after Christmas, so Tom declared that Amy’s birthday was officially postponed until New Years Eve when and they’d have a small celebration with their friends.

THE CATCH

What Amy didn’t know was that two other couples she and Tom are very close to also planned to sneak into Chicago on New Years Eve to be there for the party. They had arranged with Tom to gain access to the apartment while Tom and Rob and Daryl took Amy shopping for her birthday. They were to decorate the place and be ready to yell, “SURPRISE!!” when the shopping crew returned.

What she also didn’t know is that her good friend “T” (half of one of those two other couples I mentioned) had arranged among Amy’s friends and parents to pool resources to replace her beloved camera outfit including the lenses and some accessories! Too much for any one person or couple to afford, it became doable when spread out among Carol and me, the two other couples, Tom, and two singles; all of whom are like extended family to Amy and Tom. Well, except for me and Carol because we ARE family. Oh, you get the picture!

Apparently the surprise part of the plan didn’t quite come off as intended. At some point, over drinks (in vino veritas) Rob and/or Daryl (I don’t have quite all of the details yet) let it slip that the other couples were coming.

But according to T, Amy’s surprise upon opening the gift (the camera) was complete and worth all the effort. The report I have is that although no tears were rolling down Amy’s face, there was some eye-wiping going on.

Wish we could have been there.