Days 38 - 47 - I will catch you all up

Hi all,

I have only just come home from Melbourne, and had no computer available, so this is the first time I have had to catch up with the blog.
What I will do is to write an entry for each day but put it all onto the one post. For those of you who make it through this monster post, congratulations, and have a cuppa on me. (Actually, I will probably post them as I go, sometimes I may do a couple posts a day and I will post it straight away, makes it a little less confusing for you, and me...)

I thought if I write it as though I was just going through the days as they occurred, I may actually get through this without falling apart.

Ok, so as you know, Friday the 18th wasn't so great,, with Uncle having had a heart attack on the bus on his way to us here in Perth for the 'Big Bash'. last we knew, he had been put into a medically induced coma and we were waiting to see how he would come out of it.

It was way too late to cancel my birthday party, and as a family, we decided that 'the show must go on', and that we needed to put on our game faces and just put everything else to the back of our minds and enjoy the night.

So...

Day Thirty Eight -  SATURDAY 19TH MARCH, 2011 - Surprise!!

Today I'm grateful for:- Surprise!!

Today I'm grateful for Surprises...I knew that my family were putting on a big'ish' party for me, but I had no idea of what was really in store for me.

From the moment the white 1968 original Mustang convertible (with a pink ribbon) arrived to pick us up to take us to the venue (The Mussel Bar - Fremantle), to when my girls hijacked me and gave me flowers to take with me into the private function room, it was a roller coaster of emotions. You will never guess what these little buggers have been planning for the past 18months! And apparently everyone knew but me...

I had some issues about turning 50, some real very valid issues. I thought I was getting old, fat and ugly and was worried that Hubby couldn't possibly love me as much as he did when I was young(er)  and a hell of a lot cuter...

He was standing at the window with a guy who looked a lot like his mate the chaplain. And his brother and our S-I-L (son-in-law) were lined up beside him and our daughters lined up next to me. In all my wisdom, I turned round to the guests (standing clapping...) and said "what the hell????". round of laughter from guests... me: "No, really... what the hell???".

My beautiful Hubby of nearly 30 years had arranged for us to renew our wedding vows on my 50th birthday.

Now, I don't know about you, but to me, that was a pretty definitive demonstration of the fact that he does indeed still love me. Good to know... nah, WONDERFUL to know.

So we had a lovely little ceremony, then this tall guy starts singing, beautifully... Earl Cole in case you were wondering.

All up, an amazing evening. Our family and friends were all dressed in their finest and looked brilliant. Even S-I-L's brother and his lovely lady came over from Sydney for the evening... Everyone went to so much trouble for me. I really couldn't believe it. I had so much fun and felt so incredibly spoilt and blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. The food was delicious, service great, the music amazing, (it may not have been to everyone's taste, but I loved it), the decorations were elegant, the bonbonaires were innovative and clever, and then our eldest daughter made me cry.

Yes dear reader, she made me cry... Lizzie made a speech about me. It was heartfelt and honest and she made me sound like a wonderful person...lol.

So, I may not usually like surprises, but this one was definitely worth it. At least to me. It made me feel special, and treasured and cherished and all those other things we all need to feel to make life worth living. Thank you to all the people who made this night possible for me, but a special thank you must go to Lizzie for all of her hard work, amazing organising skills and creativity. Ably assisted by Hubby and Jam of course. Thank you all. I love you and I am blessed to have you all in my life.

Kisses

Julie