San Francisco Surprise

I have quite a wife.

Christ being a tough act to follow, makes my birthday (December 26^th) a day that I (and I must assume others) don’t really look forward to celebrating all that much. It’s just bad timing. I dread having to recharge (or appear to) the day after Christmas for another celebration… and it’s my own birthday. But with marriage comes new priorities, new skill sets. Sarah happens to love birthdays and has a real talent for surprises.

After celebrating my birthday in Ohio with a lobster lunch, a birthday card to open every 30 minutes (thanks all who sent cards), a trip to the zoo and bowling extravaganza, Sarah ended the night with one final card… A surprise trip to San Francisco for New Years.

Our New Year’s Eve was amazing. Staying in Union square, hanging out in North Beach, riding trolley cars and then fireworks on the waterfront. But Sarah wasn’t finished. Did I mention she loves surprises?

After a perfect day hanging out and watching the Rose Bowl (I shamelessly bandwagoned the Buckeyes once it became clear they would win), we headed out to dinner. North Beach, where we were staying, is the Italian district in San Francisco and renowned for all its wonderful and plentiful Italian restaurants. We settled on Thai. After dinner I was shocked to enter a local watering hole to find a group of my college friends there to greet 

me. Five minutes later my high school buddies arrived. Oh… did I mention that Sarah likes surprises? It was awesome to be surprised by so many friends and we had a fun filled night celebrating.

The very next day after touring the city, we headed to my uncle and aunt’s house for what I thought would be a nice intimate dinner. I was greeted by more Monleys than you can shake a stick at. Sarah had arranged another surprise party for my cousin Erika and I with my family. To have a second surprise party… or was it the third, was even more amazing. We celebrated long into the night. In short; a wonderful trip. I truly am blessed to have friends and family who were willing to make a trip San Francisco for the parties, as well as hosting and touring Sarah and I around the city.

Mostly, I’m lucky to have such a wonderful wife.  

House guest perspective

There’s something refreshing about spontaneous house guests. They consume your time, your home and your attention--but the distraction is so enjoyable.

I didn't know what to do with myself when I found out Thursday I had house guests coming on Friday. My apprehension stemmed from the fact that I don’t live a proper entertaining lifestyle. I don’t own any dishes, cookware or bath towels and my mattress is delicately placed on the floor due to lack of box springs. My theory is: just make do, this is fine for now.

I knew my situation wasn't much to show off, so I created a plan for helping our guests feel welcome. I washed sheets, grocery shopped and even made a draft itinerary for their stay. All this was unnecessary as Mark and Lina are so easygoing, pleasant and fun to be around that we probably could have hosted them in a reserved parking spot and they would have had a good time.

The weekend was terrific. Saturday we had a dinner party with friends, roommates and family members. I got to wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law and we even hiked little Mt. Si in Snoqualmie.

The entire weekend, I didn’t check Twitter, I didn’t read emails, I didn’t even scan Google headlines... and to be honest, it was refreshing. I think sometimes we get so caught up in focusing on what’s going on, what needs to be read, or what the breaking news is that we miss the real people who are right in front of us. I’m thankful for this weekend’s reminder that everything’s not virtual.

Hiking Mt. Si

What a lovely view