Another Guest Post (Why, You’re Welcome!)

**UPDATE** Leave Comment. Win Amazon Gift Card. You’re welcome again.

Okay, guys. My excellent older brother has written one more post for my February Fun guest blogging fest. This one is really sweet, because it’s all abou me. Oh, wait. It’s really not about me. But he sor of makes it about me, because … generous. You know. So if you haven’t read his other two blogs, back up and check them out. Because, trust me. Also, here’s the Birthday Story.

What a Great Birthday!

I’ve been reading Becca’s blog for some time now.  She’s awesome at many things. And she’s sufficiently self-aware to know that she’s not great at some things.  One thing she’s great at is telling us in an unassuming (sometimes self-deprecating) and fun way what cool stuff falls into which category.  However, sometimes she needs someone else to toot her horn.  She’s incredibly thoughtful and I want to tell you this story about how fantastic she is. [1]

I honestly don’t recall whether it was my 17th or 18th birthday.  Maybe our fair blogerista will recall. Sitting down to write, I am pretty sure it was my 18th, and if so, it was a really early celebration because we weren’t together for my actual 18th, and that’s a whole ‘nother story.

We lived in small-town Indiana.  Seriously small town.  About 5000 residents and we knew most of them.  At the time, our girls’ basketball team was good.  Scary good.  We had future Big 10 scoring leaders on that team.  If that doesn’t mean anything to you, think Fablehaven levels of success. It was as big a deal to go to the girls’ games in our town (gym seated about 4000) as it was the boys’.  Remember the movie Hoosiers?  That town was just down the (long, winding, country) road from our town.  It’s an understatement to say that hoops was a pretty big deal.

We had a plan to go to a girls’ game that particular Saturday night.  The players were our friends, the cheerleaders were our friends, the band members were our friends, the fans were our friends.

I called J and M (official Becca-blog notation!) another brother and sister who were our great friends to make a plan: We’d pick them up, then grab some grub at Young’s Dairy Queen before the game.  Our DQ made the best burgers, shakes, blizzards and sundaes!

Just one thing, J told me M really wanted to go to McDonald’s (who, if you don’t know didn’t, doesn’t, and will never make the best burgers, shakes, blizzards and sundaes!) Um, NO!  I was adamant.  We’re not going to McD’s.  Absolutely NOT!  It was not going to happen.  M could figure it out at DQ.  J tells me that he’d really rather go to McD’s too.  I assume he is just protecting his sister because J and I put away a lot of calories in our time together, very little of it from McD’s by our choice.  We came to an accord: We’d go all the way past DQ to McD’s so M could get what she wanted, then come all the way back to DQ for the rest of us to get better food.  Then go to the game.

Seriously, all the way to McD’s you’re asking yourself?  How far could it have been?  The town only had 5000 people in it, was I worried about traffic?  Of course not.  Traffic wouldn’t become a problem until after the game.  It’s just that I was a teenager and the three minute drive (maybe, if there was some traffic) between DQ and McD’s was a greater percent of my life than it is now, and it meant more to me then!

And, where’s Becca in this story?  Hang on, the set-up is done.  Here comes more good stuff.

I tell J that we’ll be to his house to pick up him and M in 30 minutes.  Done!

Becca gets on the phone, and because she’s a teenage girl and this is not uncommon behavior, I think nothing of it (but keep it in the back of your mind).  Two minutes later, J calls back.  He needs more time (not uncommon behavior).  His family is having “Family Home Evening” a Mormon gathering designed for family togetherness, religious education, and sharing treats and entertainment.  It’s usually designated for Monday evenings, but with the J&M Family, finding a random, alternate day without notice is, to continue a paragraphical theme, not uncommon behavior.  And I concede to give them an hour.

Becca and I pick up J&M.  We both live out of the town limits (we on the NW side, they on the SE), so we pass both McD’s and DQ on the way.  I murmur something about M’s petty tastes and Becca tells me that McD’s isn’t that bad (and I agree, it’s just not as good as DQ). [2]

We pick up J&M and I start in on the idea that M can find something she likes at DQ.  I’m quickly out-voted by Becca, J&M.

So we pull in to McD’s and my passengers want to go in. Seriously?!?  The drive-thru was invented for just this purpose!  Overruled, I reluctantly agree to go in with them instead of pouting in the car.

As we enter, I am totally shocked to see about a dozen friends, mostly from out of town (read: greater Cincinnati area, an hour away) in our little McD’s.  And they all cheer “Surprise!  Happy Birthday!”  Whoa!  All this, the covert measures, the duplicitousness, the phone calls (Becca had called J to tell him that 30 mins was too early, that the out-of-towners wouldn’t be there yet), it was all for me to have a cool birthday surprise.

We ate food, we played kid games, we had a cake.  It was phenomenal.  We made it to the basketball game (some of us) then back to our house for more festivities.  It remains a warm and fuzzy memory (kind of like McD’s food; just sayin’).  I never want to forget that my sister planned a great event for me.  She’s terrific.  And her blog rocks.[3]

[1] Aw, shucks.
[2] Did I really? Shudder.
[3] Thank you. And thank you again for all the great posts. You’re one of my Top 9 Favorite Siblings. I mean it.