Surprise, Surprise

My sisters will take any opportunity to tell you that I am special. And as much as I am just like them in several ways... I will readily admit that I am the different one. I am much more artistic, creative, idealistic, and out-of-the-box thinking than they are. I was always the dreamer, the one who just didn't like reality, so I would create my own. In elementary I went to a different school on monday and tuesday than the rest of the kids in my wednesday thru thursday class. It was a special school, for advanced and creative kids. My oldest sister Leisa liked to call it my own "special ed." (She always was so loving...)

One of the ways that I am different from them is that I love surprises. I love them. Leisa would tell my mom all of the Christmas presents she wanted and would wrap them herself. She even conned her 3 year old son into telling her what her husband got her for Mother's Day this year. My other sister Ashley would buy her own presents and then let me wrap them. She also checked her wedding and baby registries religiously to see who had bought what, just so she wouldn't be surprised. And they all three hate opening up gifts in front of other people.

Me? I think they're absolutely crazy.

My mom hates it because I will not tell her what I want for birthdays and Christmases.. because then she would buy it and I would inadvertently know what I was getting. And I don't want to know! I will take all precautions to not know. I love the surprise. I love being surprised in any way (unless it's a scared-surprise, and then I cry... Just ask Cody).

Speaking of Cody, we love to surprise each other. I send him cards and presents unexpectedly in the mail, and I love getting his phone calls after they've arrived. He will show up a day or a few hours earlier than he is supposed to when he comes to visit, sometimes surprising me at work when I wasn't expecting him to arrive until much later that night. And then his ultimate surprise, when he proposed- several weeks earlier than my ring should have been ready, and two days earlier than he should have been visiting.

HOWEVER. Because I love to be surprised so much, I am soo good at hiding them. Cody? Not so much. He gets so excited that he somehow lets it slip! And its absolutely adorable.

The first time he showed up early, he called me ever hour "just to see what I was doing"... and he just so happened to be driving each time he called. "I'm driving to work" he said. "I'm going to get lunch now"..."I'm running to my mom's house"... Except I knew something was up.

My Christmas present, which was my engagement ring.. He gave me a hint every single night as to what it was. I never did quite guess it, but he couldn't stand not to say something about it!

With more practice, he is getting better at keeping his surprises in. Better, but not quite there.

Last night he was talking about my birthday, which is on May 20, and was telling me about my presents he's getting me. One is on its way. The other he found and went back to get a few days later and they didn't have it anymore so he's still searching. The third present he's been trying to find for 2 weeks and just bought last night. "It's a DVD!" he said, "but I am NOT telling you which one!"

Thank you, hunny! I wonder if he can last the next six days without telling me about my other two...