SURPRISE!!

Well, we pulled it off. The Italian restaurant experience last night was really a surprise birthday party for Carol.

You regular readers will remember that last February, on our ski trip, my family had arranged a surprise birthday party for me on what I shall only refer to as a “significant” milestone birthday. Carol is within one week of that same milestone (somewhere, as Amy put it last night, “around” 30). I figured that turnabout was, proverbially, fair play.

Amy did most of the work. After deciding on a golf theme – and with Amy, everything must have a theme – she found online and ordered a Mylar balloon shaped like a golf bag with clubs in it. On the table she placed two “koozie” drink holders also shaped like golf bags, and in one of them she put her main creation: individual “golf clubs” with wooden dowel handles. Around the dowels, secured with rubber bands, she rolled small printed sheets of paper. Each sheet contained written comments from people who felt Carol had been significant in their lives.

I had contacted the people weeks earlier and solicited their comments – anything they chose to write. They were all heartfelt, and brought tears to all of us.

As the piece de resistance, Carol’s main gift from me was a more powerful zoom telephoto lens for her beloved digital camera.

We had a WONDERFUL evening.

Now, I’ve GOT to show you what Amy did. Here is the real Callaway Golf logo:

And then here is what Amy put on each of the golf club heads (made out of cardboard) that she put in the small club holder (bag):

Finally, here are some of the decorations and the "golf clubs" Amy made:

(She gets her creativity from her mother.)