My Amazing Husband

Tomorrow is Eric's birthday.  He's big on surprises and generally likes for me to plan this event.  For Eric, it communicates my love and devotion when I plan something I know he will love.  Surprises are most definitely NOT my thing, so I struggle with this every year (and again at Christmas), but I typically do okay.

This year, friends, I failed.  Our baby is due this week.  I have not been so tied up in "baby" that I didn't plan Eric's birthday.  But I have been tied up in everything-that-needs-to-get-done-at-work-before-my-brain-will-turn-off before the baby comes.  And yes, I failed at planning my husband's birthday.  I didn't get a gift, I didn't plan a meal, and I have no surprises.  Best Wife of the Year Award - right here.

I did remember his birthday, which is step in the right direction after forgetting our anniversary.  So we started talking about it last week and I was honest and admitted my lack of planning.  Instead of being utterly disappointed and let down, my stellar husband planned his own birthday outing!  While surprises are the way to HIS heart... planning it out is the way to MY heart!  I was so happy :)

On Friday we celebrated Eric.  He picked a restaurant we've not been to before, a local place serving local food with a menu that changes daily.  Great pick.  And he decided he would like a new sweater from REI, all I had to do was take him there!  GLORY!  I was so excited to celebrate Eric's birthday with him on Friday!  After the meal, the waiter asked if we were interested in dessert.  Eric kindly declined, which is normal, except on birthdays.  We normally go all out on birthdays.  So after the waiter walked away I asked Eric about dessert - didn't we at least need to look at the dessert menu?  His response, "we won't be having dessert here."

You see, my amazing husband had planned a surprise for ME on his birthday!  A while back I had mentioned it would be a special treat to have some handmade chocolates in our house for after the baby arrives.  At the time I made some comment like, "it will give me something to look forward to."  As if the BABY isn't enough?  I don't know what I was thinking, and neither does Eric, but he remembered.  So after dinner he took me a local chocolate shop and we picked out some treats for the birthday dessert and bought a box of chocolates to bring home.

While I'm not sure what I was thinking when I said, "it'll give me something to look forward to,"  it has worked!  Each time I open the cupboard and see that clear box with milk chocolate turtles staring me down,  I can't help but think Come, Baby, Come!