Months before I arrived in the ME, I was talking to Maple on Skype about my upcoming birthday. I told her that I really wanted to do something fun and special, since I would be turning 40 and since I was going to be in a new country where I hadn't made a lot of friends yet to celebrate with. In my mind, I was thinking of going somewhere cool, like to a Dead Sea resort, or to Petra (#1 Bucket List item), or to a new country (for me) in the region. And since last year's birthday was so awesome, I didn't expect to top it, but I sure wanted to at least have a really good time.
A few months later, Maple called with the news that we would be on a work trip during the time of my birthday AND that the day would actually fall during a training/conference we were leading in Italy. I tried to hide my disappointment. Working on my 40th birthday? Not being able to do one of the fun things I'd dreamed up of us doing in the ME for my 40th birthday? Bummer. I figured we'd just have to celebrate later. Maple sensed my disappointment and assured me that we would make the birthday fun.
When I arrived in the ME back in August, she told me that she had a birthday extravaganza planned. I explained that I love surprises and to not let me know what it was. She worked hard to keep it a secret, and for two months, I just let the excitement simmer.
Since we would already be in Italy, I hoped for one of two things: Either that we would go to San Marino (a micro state country that I hadn't been to yet), or that some of my good friends (thecamelridingcowgirl, Mrs.X, the Superhero's wife) would all show up in Torino for a fun ladies' birthday bash. Maple finally let me know that we were going somewhere for the extravaganza for a few days, and it would take multiple trains and a bus to get there. I didn't want to be disappointed if it wasn't San Marino, so I thought through where else we could go that I would find exciting that took that kind of travel. I decided it must be San Marino or Mont Saint Michel (in the north of France, somewhere I've always wanted to go but have never made it to yet). And when no one showed up in Torino on my birthday, and MommaMia (who we were staying with) didn't pack a bag to go with us, I figured that it would just me and Maple celebrating. Good thing I wasn't tired of her yet.
On the morning of the extravaganza, we climbed on the train, and Maple said, "No more secrecy! We're going to San Marino!" It was a pretty early morning, so I was super tired, (which I think you can see in the photo), but I was so excited! Country #39 for me!
We trained from Torino to Bologna, and then had a "layover" in Bologna. Maple had looked up some things to do in the city, so we walked around for a few hours. It was raining pretty hard, and as I said, I was so tired, that eventually I just wanted to go back to the train station to wait for our next train, which she originally told me was at 1:34. We sat in this McDonald's by the train station to wait, and while we did, Maple checked the tickets for the train time. She told me she'd read the time wrong, and the train was actually at 2:10.
We had a discussion about how I've slowly grown more impatient over the past few years, and what led up to that. Maple knows that I like to arrive early for trains and planes and such, and so she shouldn't have been surprised when, at 1:50, I bent over to pick up my bag and announced, "I'm ready to go!" However, she surprised me by saying, "No. We're not going to go yet. It's an open ticket, and so we can catch any train during a four hour period. You're going to sit right there."
I thought, "Really? Now's the time she wants to give me an object lesson in patience?" We sat in silence for what felt like forever, and then I finally said, "I don't understand why you're making me sit here and wait. I'm tired. I'd like to just go ahead and get on the train and then the bus and get there already." She responded, "You said you like surprises, so you're just going to have to sit there and wait for the next part of the surprise."
I looked at her for a minute, and imagined some American-style birthday-o-gram singer coming up behind me with balloons. "If a birthday clown comes up behind me, I will kick you." So help me, if that was what the rest of my surprise was, it might have signaled the end of our work partnership.
And so I sat and waited in the McDonald's at the Bologna train station wondering who was coming, and why in the world they were coming to meet us in Bologna?! Thecamelridingcowgirl was in Croatia on a retreat, I was pretty sure. The Superhero's wife would've met us in Torino, since she's good friends with MommaMia. Mrs.X, if she drove over from France, would've met us in Torino too, since it was closer. I thought about mutual friends that Maple and I have who live on this side of the world, and I just couldn't figure it out. Whitey, our closest mutual friend, is currently unemployed while working on her doctorate degree, so I figured she couldn't afford to come from the states. I couldn't figure it out, but in my exhaustion, I didn't want to sit there anymore...but I also didn't want to let my mood spoil the fun. So I sat there, trying not to fall asleep at the table.
I turned around to look at something, and there was Whitey walking up! In my head I thought, "Mystery solved, it's Whitey!" I said hi very nonchalantly, and gave her hug. Both she and Maple were so mystified by my lack of surprise they couldn't figure it out. Whitey asked Maple if she'd spilled the beans and thus I already knew? Nope...I'm just a slow mental processor and was super tired. About 15 minutes later, I turned to Whitey and exclaimed, "WHITEY!!! YOU'RE HERE!!!"
And there was the reaction they'd been expecting. We hopped on the next train and then bus and I kind of slept with my eyes open the whole way... We checked into our hotel and took this selfie showing our excitement to be together.
Then they teased me for how crappy the camera is on my old iPhone 4, and we took this one with Whitey's iPhone 6 to show me the difference in the two. Well, that's nice Whitey, but until my iPhone 4 dies or someone gives me a newer model, I'm stuck with what I've got.
Y'all know I love to wear a tiara, so they made sure I had one to wear to my little heart's content.
Whitey brought some other fun celebration things with her, and pulled a little bit out at a time. The next morning, I got out of the shower to find a birthday banner and balloons all over the room. She got me a "Vintage 1975: Aged to Perfection" t-shirt. She put confetti of the number 40 in my bed. She had birthday napkins. She really went all out.
She wanted a picture of the two of us together in our sort-of matching birthday shirts (she turns 40 in February). In the one above, I apparently wasn't standing straight enough towards the camera for her liking, and while my stance (in my opinion) looked natural and friendly, you couldn't completely see or read the shirt (in her opinion). When I tried to stand more straight, this awkward photo happened.
After about 20 more takes of the same awkward photo, this one happened. And that was the one that she ended up posting on Twitter for all the world to see. Goodness me.
Maple took the surprise one step further. I'd told her how last year, for my birthday, my mom had arranged for a whole bunch of people to write me birthday cards, which she then sent with the church that hosted the retreat I went to on my birthday. It was so awesome to open all those cards on a day when I would have normal felt so far away from so many of my loved ones. Maple, when hearing that story, went into action. She emailed all our mutual friends and our coworkers, and had them mail me birthday cards (and email/Facebook messages) to Whitey, who brought the cards with her. So once again, I had all kinds of awesome cards to open up from friends.
an iPhone 5!!! Since she has the 6, she doesn't need her old 5 anymore, so she gave it to me!
With the money my friends sent, we went out for a nice Italian meal overlooking the scenic view from San Marino. You can see how happy (and still so tired) I am in this photo.
Tiramisu...yum!
Turning 40 is looking good so far! Thanks everyone!!!
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