No more surprises

I went back to Indiana this past weekend for a surprise birthday party...which kinda worked. Although the surprise party was busted, the "birthday" part was still a shock. (It helps when the party is in June and the birthday isn't until October.)


The thing is that this was my 5th surprise birthday party in the last 6 months! Why do we feel the need to shock our friends and family their birthdays? Do we feel that they'll only know how much we really care about them if we go behind their back (telling the required white lies to keep everything hush-hush) to throw a party? Wouldn't we be better off asking them how they would like to celebrate, inviting all the right people, and not stressing out about it all? Occasionally they can be fun, I guess, but I've had my fill for a while. The problem is that most people tend to throw these kind of get-togethers when celebrating ages that end in zero, and many of my friends are enjoying the not-so-big 3-0 this year. I guess I'll just have to live with it for a little while longer and prepare myself for the next round in another decade.


BTW, I did have a great time at the party in Bloomington. Got to visit with some friends from college that I definitely don't see often enough. I also chatted with the wife of one of my favorite chemisty professors from Rose--a very pleasant surprise:)