Category Archives: surprise

Apr9

‘don’t plan it all, let life surprise you a little.’ – julia alvarez

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fifteen of us met in a parking lot

at the appointed time

boarded an unmarked rock ‘n roll party bus

equipped with a very patient driver

70-80’s style

disco lights, music, coolers, bevs, decor, ice

drove to our unsuspecting, just-retired friend’s house

got him on the bus and surprised him

then we were sixteen strong

drove him to detroit

to celebrate him

played games

had an axe throwing competition

(we were all unscathed)

followed by

a long delicious japanese dinner

rock ‘n roll bussed back

 laughing singing dancing storytelling hugging

 a day turned into a night to remember

he stood to speak

 said he could not believe it

he was overflowing with joy and tears

he was so happy.

—

‘the chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.’

-Kevin Kelly

May7

unexpected places.

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just curious

when waking up in the morning

at my friend’s house

why there was a large frying pan

on the bottom shelf of the nightstand

next to where i had been sleeping?

was this a hint that i was expected to chef our breakfast?

was this a self-defense weapon to use as needed?

had someone forgotten where they set down their pan?

had someone gone on a late-night eating in bed food bender?

when i inquired, one answered:

‘oh, is that the one that is usually hanging in the closet?’

what, there’s one usually hanging in the closet?

another answered:

‘what frying pan?’

host woke up and said,

‘ i was going to give that one away.’

oh, of course.

that’s the perfect place to leave it to remember to give it away.

 i loved waking up with a surprise, a mystery, and a smile.

(and there really was an even larger frying pan hanging in the hall closet.)

‘

—

“there are almost unlimited possibilities for making discoveries and to uncover the unknown.

it is in the nature of the discovery that it can not be planned or programmed.

-on the contrary, it consists of surprises and appears many times in the most unexpected places.”

-bengt i. samuelsson

Feb11

shared.

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 a delightful surprise

getting back into the car

thinking of my next stop

  a gentle knock on my window

opened to hear a smiling stranger say,

‘i just wanted to give these to you, have a beautiful day.’

 holding this lovely little bouquet

making my way back into the day

made all the sweeter with this gift.

 

—

“happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.”

– john arrigan

May20

do not forget alphabets.

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for the second time

we tried to surprise

a dear friend

to celebrate her milestone birthday

and round two came very close to not happening

when life circumstances intervened

just a few hours before.

 we quickly began planning

what our third attempt would look like

when she turned the tables

and surprised all of us

by showing up

at the appointed hour.

—

“new friends may be poems but old friends are alphabets.

do not forget alphabets, because you will need them to read the poems.”

*author: not shakespeare

*this is another one of those quotes that seems to have come up someplace and wandered around a bit until someone put “shakespeare once said…” in front of it and it stuck.  

Jan23

rock out.

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when you’re little

 walking around the museum

 see a big old bumpy boring rock

walk around to the front of it

 find an amazing, amazing surprise

that is inside of it

you just have to touch it

 there are no words.

—

“sometimes the most shocking surprises are the most beautiful surprises.”

-lori wilhite

 

Dec22

little something.

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love to do last-minute surprise drop-offs of cards and tiny gifts.

 

—

“christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”

-charles m. schulz

—

image credit: etsy.com

Oct8

be unprepared.

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when an unexpected robot cat rolls up to deliver your dinner and gives you a wink

 just smile and wink back.

 

—

“be unprepared. that’s my motto. let life surprise you.”

-marty rubin

Jun23

seize us.

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so fun surprising my friend who loved being surprised fully embracing the moment

“the moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. it is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”

-ashley montagu, british/american anthropologist

Jan23

it fell from the sky.

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after last week’s surprise package of tempting treats

another food surprise arrived

 a couple of breakfast meals

seem to have fallen from the sky

right to my front door

this time delivered by grub hub 

with no address on the receipt 

delivered in the morning when i was at school

 huge portions of pancakes and eggs benedict

i’m sure they were hot and delicious when they arrived

another set of challenges to my healthy eating

testing my temptation limits

is my door the common delivery area for every address on my street?

what will appear next?

should i leave snacks and drinks out for all of the delivery people yet to come?

—

“when fortune knocks open the door.”

-proverb

Jan20

unexpected.

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last night when i walked outside

i tripped over a bag left at my front door

it was filled with treats

cookies, candy, and ice cream

(the three c’s, the holy trinity of sweets, cake can be subbed in as needed)

i had no idea who it was from, no note inside, such a great surprise

then i noticed the address

guessed the delivery person had just reversed it

i could go and deliver it myself

 tried to imagine who was waiting for it

maybe

it was from a parent

who sent it to their child/college student cramming for an exam?

the victim of a recent romantic breakup needing sugar therapy?

a parent who just needed a break and a treat?

a dieter on a sweets bender?

a family waiting for dessert to go with their board game?

a hallmark movie night for friends?

was it a test from the universe

to challenge my recent healthy eating resolve?

cadbury is my favorite chocolate

 the cookies aren’t that big

 i could eat one spoon of ice cream a day

i had no idea how long it had been out there

no one had knocked

the ice cream was beginning to soften

i felt for whoever was expecting it

called the company on the bag

they said the customer had reordered when it didn’t arrive

they had already sent them out a new bag of treats

 i was welcome to eat it or throw it out

i chose a third option

i delivered this unexpected gift to my daughter

at her house in the light of day.

—

“life is always bringing unexpected gifts.”

-may sarton