Reverb10 Day 9: Party Dreamed 4885 days ago | | 761 words
December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)
I’m not much of a party person, preferring small gatherings to wild parties. The top party of this year is hands down my wedding. However, I’ve already gushed and recalled that so many times it’s starting to feel like a bad sitcom rerun.
So instead of recounting how beautiful the weather was and how great it was to have all our friends and family gathered on the beach. Instead,, I am going to take this opportunity to recount the greatness of my mothers’ surprise 60th Birthday party.
Her birthday is December 9th and the party itself was on the 10th. The back story to this even goes back about three years. She had mentioned to a couple friends on her first trip to Blue Pete’s restaurant in Virginia Beach how cool it would be to have her 60th birthday in this lovely room inside the restaurant.
It is called the Fox Den and has two stuffed foxes above the entryway to the dining area. It has a small bar area and beautiful fireplace. The aquatic motif is evident with the paintings and photos of the ocean and sea life around the room. In addition to the huge captain’s wheel chandelier in the middle of the room.
The room is half open with the half by the fireplace equipped with two couches and several recliner type chairs. If you didn’t know better you’d think it would be sitting cozy inside a private house instead of a restaurant.
So needless to say, her off handed comment three years ago was recounted to her now-husband and the wheels were set in motion. She would have a surprise party in that very room!
She was lured under the guise of it being the establishment’s Christmas party so they were coming by “for a few drinks” then off to another local hangout to visit and dine.
Needless to say, they never made it out of the first stop. And the party was a secret up until the moment she walked in and we all yelled SURPRISE! And I got to pop around a corner and give her an even bigger surprise since I had taken the day off work and headed down to attend the party. I arrived just in time to help with some of the higher decorations.
By the time mom had arrived, we had the room covered in Over the Hill decor. “Beware of Falling Body Parts” and others I can’t remember. There was a roaring fire filling the room with warmth and a small pile of shrimp and a veggie tray in the corner by the cake.
The food was delicious. There was chicken and grilled peppers, raw pepper-encrusted tuna over a bed of greens served on a fried wonton disc and finally fried green tomatoes made up the main course of the cuisine.
There was also a plate of steamed shrimp and a large basket of fresh bread and rolls with brie, fresh mozzarella and other assorted cheeses. The cake was delicious, a double layer white cake with raspberry between the layers and a white frosting. On it, was a rendition of my mother with her arms in the air with I DEMAND A RECOUNT above her head and a picture of a cake with a ton of candles beneath her.
The room was filled with the scent of burning wood from the fire and the cold night air. The food was delicious and the scent was wafting into the main room where we all gathered. Once people arrived, the aromas of various wines and fruity drinks passed by, aided by my Shirley Temple.
She told me after the party when we got home and were talking about the night, how she was bummed that not many people attended her birthday dinner the night before. The dinner she knew about was fairly well attended but she had no idea what was in store for her the next day.
We were able to give my mom a great night. A night she will not forget for a very long time. It was a great party.
Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what’s happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 – and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you – you’ll have support on your journey.
Comment
Commenting is closed for this article.