When Paul, my husband, was in his late 30s, I started thinking about how I could surprise him for his 40th. It’s hard to be surprised when turning 30, 40, 50 and so on. Paul surprised me for my 30th. To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised. I have a weird radar that figures out surprises. That, and my five-year-old made a comment — but she only confirmed what I thought.

So I decided to do something drastic… celebrate his 40th when he’s 39 1/2. This put the date in the summer and right between my daughter’s camp sessions, so she was home for the celebration. Frisco RoughRiders, a minor league baseball team, plays within a couple of miles from our house. Hmm… how about an old fashioned ball game for a party?

The day arrived. Paul isn’t one of those who feels the need to show up early especially for a ball game. Of all times, he decided he wanted to leave earlier. Oh, fine. I went with it delaying as much as I could.

We ran into my parents in the parking lot. (They lived an hour away.) So I came up with a perfect explanation on the spot. (And I’m not usually good at on-the-spot situations.) “Dad won tickets to the game and had plenty for the family.” Oh, it was very plausible. Everyone knew Dad was lucky. He won a car, a bike, trips.

We went to our seats and ran into my brother and sister. No big deal. Then our friends started showing up causing my husband’s face to turn curious confused. We revealed the party. Surprise! He was surprised even though we didn’t arrive after everyone else did as I had hoped.

All of us received an unexpected surprise… us adults with black tongues from the red and black — RoughRider colors — frosting on the cake.

Everybody’s Talking about Surprises

I wrote today’s post as part of the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Letter from Home by Kristina McMorris (www.kristinamcmorris.com). This debut novel is the story of three young women during World War II and the identity misunderstandings they and the men in their lives have. Ask yourself: Can a soldier fall in love with a woman through letters? and What happens if the woman writing the letters is different from the woman he met the might before he shipped out, the woman he thought was writing the letters? Is it still love or just a lie?

Like many authors, Kristina has had a wild selection of “real jobs” everything from wedding planner to actress to publicist. She finally added novelist to the list after Kristina got a peek at the letters her grandfather wrote to his sweetheart (a.k.a. Grandma Jean) while he was serving in the Navy during World War II. That got her wondering how much two people could truly know each other just from letter writing and became the nugget of her novel. In honor of her grandparents, and all the other families kept apart by military service, Kristina is donating a portion of her book’s profits to United Through Reading, a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories to their children.

Comment for a Chance to Win

If you comment on today’s post on this blog or any of the others participating in Everybody’s Talking About Surprises by 11:59pm on March 17, you’ll be entered to win a special surprise prize! It includes an personalized copy of Letters from Home, a Big Band CD, Victory Garden seeds, and a $20 gift card the winner can use at … well, it’s a surprise! All wrapped up in a vintage WWII box. To read Kristina’s post about surprises and a list of other blogs participating in Everybody’s Talking about Surprises visit The Muffin.

Tell us about a time when you were surprised.

• Professional lexicographer Erin McKean is behind Dictionary Evangelist and Verbatim Magazine. I’ve heard great things about her TED speech on redefining the dictionary.
• Insanely Creative Portfolios from around the Web: Collection of design portfolios.
• Worried about iPod or iPhone theft? With Hideapod, put it inside something no one wants… Zune. [Link: Steve Bass]
• Hole in the ground. Fascinating pictures of holes — seriously! [Link: Steve Bass]
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game turns 100. The song lives on the walls of my son’s baseball-themed bedroom.
• D.B. Cooper parachute investigated. Mysterious story might receive an update…