Birthday Surprise

Last summer I only left camp twice- once to bring Olivia home for eye surgery on a weekend (which I had planned months in advance) and once on a weekday when I rushed her home to the vet for an injured paw. I also loaded 14/18 staff into a van and drove them to my house for a city field trip one weekend, but I don't count that as leaving since I brought camp with me.

I miss home and my roommies, family, friends, but leaving camp is really difficult. I worry that something will go wrong or someone will need me and I won't be available. I also hate to miss out on the fun.

But every now and then, something really important comes up in real life that I can't miss out on and I have to leave camp.

My boyfriend has been incredibly understanding and supportive of my life. I don't know if the situation were reversed and he went away for 4 months if I would be as patient as he is. His birthday was yesterday and I knew I had to make it special.

One of my board members has season tickets for the baseball team (of which BF is a HUGE fan!!). The board member offered me tickets months ago and I asked if I could have them for yesterday's game. "No problem" he said!

So for 2 months, I have been planning. I emailed as many of his friends and his parents, as well as his roommate to make sure no one else made plans with him. I arranged with his roommate to be there to let me in so I could decorate and he was also my accomplice in luring BF home from work early.

Yesterday, I left camp in the morning, ran some errands and then arrived at BFs house by 3. I had 20 balloons, which I tied all over his yard and into his house. I had a rhyming poem that I'd made up and hung each section with each bundle of balloons. I also had a big "surprise" sign, an ice cream cake with candles and the tickets.

His roommate called (several times in a row to get him out of the meeting he was in) and said he was sorry but the dishwasher was overflowing and he needed to come right home. I had talked to BF several times about his plans for the day, but I didn't know anyone in his office and so the only fear I had was a last minute birthday happy hour that would prevent him from coming right home. So the "crisis" was a good way of taking care of that.

He was upset about the dishwasher and came home looking frustrated (his roommate and I were peaking out the window), but when he saw the balloons, his face changed to confused. When he saw the cake and candles, he looked even more confused (he told me later he was thinking maybe my roommates had set everything up for me as a surprise). But when I walked out and said, "happy birthday" his face was priceless.

He was so excited and his smile was so wonderful. He was so excited for the game and I was thrilled that the surprise had worked! He changed into his team jersey and we rushed off for the game.

The tickets were in a dugout box, 10th row. The box connected to a private lounge with concessions and bathrooms, so we didn't have to wait in line for anything. The seats were so close we could have talked to the players and it was a perfect, warm night for an outdoor game. The whole night was luxurious and wonderful and perfect!

He was surprised I had left camp, and while I was stressed out about leaving, it was important to me to show him how much he means to me by making the effort to do this. A major part of the success I have had with camp has been the support I receive from my family and friends and so it's important to me that (whenever possible) I show my family and friends (and now BF) that, even during the craziest time of life, they are a priority in my life. Balancing camp and real life continues to be a focus, more so now than ever.