31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 6: Surprises

I love surprises. The name itself is exciting: it evokes thoughts of happiness, awe, and fun, sparkly times.

Now for those of you who don't know me well, I am EXTREMELY difficult to surprise. Some would say it's because I "snoop" (which I vehemently deny), others say it's because I ask too many questions. I will tell you my secret: I pay very close attention to almost everything. I pick up on hints and clues, subtle statements, and have the uncanny ability to store all of these things in a mental file that, translated in to "real life" would surely wrap the globe several times over.

When I was 26, my friends threw me a surprise birthday party. It wasn't huge or fancy, but I can tell you it was one of the best surprises I've ever had. This party was a TRUE surprise; my birthday was on a Tuesday that year and I was still in graduate school. I came home from my Voice Disorders class (yes...boring...), and when I opened my door I was still on the phone with my grandparents. The only think I halfway noticed was that my light was on, and I never left the light on. I hung up my keys, walked down the very short hall, and was stunned to find my friends and my boyfriend there complete with cake, flowers, gifts, and huge decorations. It was one of the single most thrilling moments of my life.

Now, at 32, I am finding surprises a little bit more rare but ever so wonderful. Yesterday, my best friend Jeanne showed up at my door with my "belated birthday/Christmas gift": a gorgeous hand-made decoupaged dressform. Not only that, but it is decoupaged with French book pages (my fave), and she pointed out special little messages and features that make this a priceless work of art in my world. It is special because Jeanne and I share the dream of going to Paris to flea market (Summer 2014...it's going to be MAJOR), because it's a seriously cool piece, and because I NEVER expected her to show up with that.

So friends, today I am expressing my gratitude for surprises, those tiny miracles that can happen at any time. When was the last time YOU were surprised?