My husband, Nick, turned 30 on Friday.
The past few months have been rough to say the least, with a death in the family, craziness at work, back problems, and other stresses. I didn’t blame him for not wanting a party. He just wanted a day off when he didn’t have to do anything or see anyone.
But I couldn’t let his 30th birthday go by without doing something special. With the help of Nick’s mom and sister, we came up with an idea that would sort of bring a party to him without all of the trouble of hosting.
I contacted most of his close friends and family members and asked them to write a short memory or birthday wish for Nick. I gave them about 10 days to respond through email, then I printed each of the memories and wishes on small pieces of paper. Then each of those was folded and rolled and put in to a balloon.
I blew up about 90 balloons, each one with a memory or birthday wish inside. I used one of those balloon air pumps, the ones that are next to the balloons at Hobby Lobby. Even with a pump, it wasn’t easy and it took a very long time! As soon as I finished the last balloon, I laid down on the floor and remembered that every Walmart, Target, and office supply store carries small cans of compressed air. That would have made the whole process much easier…
When it came time to give him his present, he opened a mostly empty scrapbook with two small envelopes taped to the front. One was marked “P” (for pin) and the other was marked “E P” (for ear plugs). That, of course, caused some confusion, but he opened the book to find instructions on the first few pages. The instructions confused him further.
Then I opened the door to our guest room, where he saw all of the balloons piled on the bed and floor. I still had to clear it up a little, but when he figured it out, he smiled and said, “Really? Do I have this many friends?”
After securing the ear plugs, he popped each balloon, one by one, and filled the empty book with memories.
For all of you who contributed, thank you for making my husband feel loved and appreciated, while still letting him have the day off that he deserved. He really enjoyed his present, so thank you for helping me pull it off!
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