My oldest son and my best friend have their birthdays within a couple days of each other, so it was a very action packed week. My son turned 12, which is very significant when you’re Mormon. Boys receive the Aaronic Priesthood when they turn 12 and they get to pass the sacrament.
My best friend turned an undisclosed age. She insists she is aging in reverse, so last year she was 29. This year she is 28. She was 29 for about three or for years before that too. She does look quite young, so maybe lying about your age is the key to staying young.
Anyway, my son has talked a lot about all of the gift cards and money he wants for his birthday. I wondered just how rich he thought we were. I was also a little sad because his days of wanting just simple toys are over. I also wanted to make sure I got him something special to celebrate receiving the priesthood. To lessen the boredom of giving him just money or gift cards, I sent him on a treasure hunt. With the silly clues I wrote, he found money all over the house and then the last clue sent him to the church. He had Scouts that night, so we needed to go there anyway. The last thing he found was a leather bound set of scriptures with his name engraved on them. We gave him some paperback ones when he was 8, so he was excited. I was relieved that he was so pleased with it and feared he would say something like, “You could have bought me a Wii game instead.” No, his reaction was, “YES!”
The next day we had our friend over for dinner and that was a huge production. I have her over every week and I wanted this to be special. My nine-year-old son dressed up as her date, I made authentic looking menus, and turned our place into a jazz restaurant. I put a little star by the things my son was supposed to order for her. He loves getting dressed up in his suit, so that’s why he won that role. My other boys were the manager and the server. My three-year-old daughter was a random customer who threw tantrums for about two hours while I was trying to get dinner ready.
My friend loved the dinner so much with the candles, fancy napkins, and roses. She felt very special and said it was the first date she’s had in years. If I had money, I would have taken her to the jazz restaurant she loves, but this was probably even more fun.
What’s the best surprise you have ever had?
