The "A Son Looks At Forty" Story

It was an ordinary day. LDub has a son who is forty! And how old does that make me feel? Younger all the time. Derek, my wife Carol and my oldest son, celebrated his birthday with a surprise party at the The Symposium Restaurant in Lancaster. His wife Barb tried her best to keep it a surprise and to a degree, he was surprised. On a special occasion like that, you naturally tend to suspect something like a surprise party is going to take place. Maybe even would be disappointed it you didn't have a party thrown for you. Especially after going to a 40th surprise party for one of your best friends from high school a few weeks before. To keep it a surprise for as long as possible, Caden, my grandson and Derek's 5 year old son, was not informed about the party. Barb sent an email invitation to friends and relatives about a month before the party and asked for replies to her email address. Worked pretty well. She had to make arrangements with Derek's employer, Donnelly Printing, to make sure they would not schedule him for work on the night of the party. On the day of the party, as pre-arranged, Derek and Barb brought Caden to our house at 5:00 PM so they could go to Macaroni Grill for a scheduled supper at 6:00 PM. Seems they got to the restaurant early and were immediately seated instead of having to wait until the 6:00 PM reservation time. The party was scheduled for 7:00 PM and when Barb called from the bathroom of the restaurant at 6:15 PM telling me that they were done eating already, she had to come up with plan "B" on the spot. Shopping was the answer and she said she would still plan to be at The Symposium with Derek at 7. The 30 or so guests were ready at 7:00 PM on the second floor balcony of the restaurant when we looked down at the bar and saw Barb and Derek sitting at the bar having a drink. When Derek glanced up at the balcony, the surprise ended. Oh well, we still yelled "Surprise" as he headed up the stairs to the balcony. Fellow workers, former teammates and classmates, neighbors as well as family all greeted him. His cousin and husband were there; his mother-in-law and her husband were there; his sister-in law as well as his brother and sister with his two nieces were there; his wife and son were there; and his mom and yours truly were there to celebrate his birth 40 years before. His friends Jimmy and his wife, Greg and his wife, Bill and his wife and Chris were there. Since I taught high school and Derek was one of my students, I also enjoyed visiting during the evening with his friends from school. Evening included hors d'ourves, cupcakes and drinks. A picture board with old time photos of Derek and an 8 ft. poster greeted people as they came up the steps to the balcony. As the party was drawing to a close, an 80's rock band began playing in the bar below, drowning out voices and making a fun evening for the kids as they were in awe of the band and dancers below them. Neat evening, but I'll tell you, parties like this are for the youngsters. Went home and went to bed! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: Derek at 2 years old, banner welcoming him to his party, arriving in the balcony with wife Barb, friends from high school (front: Jimmy, Derek, Greg, back: Chris, Bill), party self-portraiture of niece Camille, Derek and son Caden, Derek with siblings Tad and Brynn.