Saturday, May 16, 2009

Weekend 3-Way: Surprise!

Do you like surprises? Really enjoy the suspense and feeling of not knowing? Or do they put you on edge, make you anxious, or perhaps so flipping curious that you go out of your head?

What kind of surprise person are you?

I’ve got a surprise coming this afternoon. I’m looking forward to it. I have my suspicions about what it entails, but I’ll have to wait and see.

I’ve received some clues, like, how many miles away from home is it safe for your piece of shit jeep to roam? But at the same time the house is being cleaned up more than usual. Are we going somewhere or is someone coming here? Hmmm….. I just don’t know.

So again, I ask what kind of surprise person are you? And please share a good or bad surprise if you so choose.

Beth:
I like surprises. I’m not the kind-of person who will go snooping around to try and find clues, or evidence, or the like. I do not ask for hints regarding birthday gifts or Christmas gifts, or any gifts at all; why spoil it? I enjoy that building anticipation.

On the other hand, the down side to surprises is that to everyone else it is not a surprise, and whether they know it or not, they have some preconceived notions about how the person being surprised should react. Sometimes the reaction is not what the others have anticipated and then there’s a feeling of displeasure on their part and feeling of guilt on the part of the person being surprised. But really, how were they to know? They had just a split second to react, they didn’t savor the idea and let the let the excitement grow like everyone else, they didn’t have the chance.

So, I guess I’m pretty good with surprises, but don’t always like the pressure of making everyone involved feel as though it was worth it. Perhaps I just need a few acting classes and I will never disappoint.

Jacquie:

Surprises? I do not like them, Sam I am. I prefer knowing what to expect, and when to expect it. You hear about those families where the doting husband plans a vacation and packs for everyone and then whisks his beautiful wife away to a destination that is only revealed in the airport lounge? That would never happen here. Except the beautiful part.

I’m the planner, I’m the shopper, I’m the control freak organizer.

When I was pregnant with my first bambino, my work peeps were planning a surprise shower, and it drove me nuts. I figured that they were planning something, mostly because no one had said a single word about having a shower for me! Being pregnant and super emotional and crazy, I began to fret that maybe they just weren’t having a shower, maybe they didn’t think of it, maybe they didn’t like me and hoped I would never come back from maternity leave. My secretary finally told me what was in the works, mostly just to shut me up and cease the dementia. When the big day came, I acted completely surprised, and even shed a few tears, thinking: “They like me! They really, really like me!”
.
Ellie:
Hmmmm. I wonder what your surprise is, Beth? Can't wait to hear.
I like surprises, I do. But mostly I like surprises that are planned by someone else, and happen to someone else. I like being the one in the crowd who shouts, “Surprise!” Because then I'm not the one lying planning the surprise, and I'm the one who has to be a good actor.
A couple of years ago my mom had an, ahem, significant birthday. So all her daughters -- 6 of us, spread far and wide -- planned to gather in Chicago, at my sister Jane's house, where Mom and Dad were going for Thanksgiving. It was a great plan, it really was. Bill and I were leaving the northeast, as we always did that time of year, and spent our last night in Connecticut at Mom and Dad's. In the morning said good-bye, and pretended to head south to Asheville, to Julie's house. Instead we headed west, to Jane's. Julie's flight was delayed, but she got there in the nick of time, all we sisters and some of the kids gathered at a neighbor's house, and Mom walked in.
Surprise!!!
And it very nearly worked. Mom was almost hugely surprised. If only someone hadn't written that email that Mom saw............

4 comments:

Me, You, or Ellie said...

I hope this doesn't sound mean, Jacquie, but I think it's so funny that you hate surprises so much, and you were sure you would wreck it, and then, well, then you wrote an email about Bill and me being on our way. And tried like hell to talk Dad through deleting it before Mom saw it, I might add.

I do hereby solemnly swear I will never throw you a surprise party. Not as far as you know.

Ellie

Me, You, or Ellie said...

I'm ignoring all comments about the mom birthday.

Great point on how fun it is to be the suprisER rather than the surprisEE. I took my girl to a surprise party for one of her 8 year old cronies, and the gang racticed jumping out for nearly an hour. We - I mean THEY- were very critical of each other's hiding prowess and jump/shouting skills. In the end, it was priceless because that girl literally fell to the floor in shock when the big moment came.

If you want to surprise me with something, please make it a trip. And let me do the packing.

J

Dorothea said...

now you need to update what the surprise was that involved a cleaner house..
and for the record, I LOVE surprises!

Lola said...

Whether I like surprises I guess depends on what the surprise is! I can go either way.