Today is my mom’s 60th birthday. We surprised her a little early by ‘mom-napping’ her for the weekend and we had a blast!
My sister-in-law, Danielle (along with my brother, Will), and sister, Martha, took Mom out to dinner for her birthday on Friday. The original plan was for the rest of us coming into town to meet up with them there to surprise Mom, but we began to think all forces were against us. My sister, Eliza, was flying in from Utah as a stand-by and was having no luck getting a flight even though she left a day earlier than planned. My plane ran into problems and was grounded, delaying us for over an hour while they found another plane. But, luck was on our side and Liza and I somehow made it to the St. Louis airport at the same time, being able to catch the MetroLink train together to meet up with our sister, Helen, who had driven in from Kentucky.
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Needless to say, we missed dinner but Danielle and Martha were quick on their toes and insisted they go on a shopping spree so Mom could pick out a birthday outfit. They did have to stall a little bit but we met up with Mom none the wiser. She was shocked and happy and gave us the look we were all hoping we’d see – pure surprise!
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After the big shock and my dad stealing away from work so he could witness the surprise through the store window, we had a family reunion in The Loft (thankfully Martha’s co-workers were understanding). It was great to see everyone.
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Mom said she was excited we had all come to help finish up her kitchen remodel. Little did she know her bag was already packed in the trunk and we were off to Springfield, IL. Surprisingly, Mom was okay with that and trusted Danielle and Martha had packed everything she needed. Honestly, Mom made out just fine with what they packed – they did a great job!
We checked into our hotel and sat up talking until almost 2:00 a.m. Why does that always happen when you get girls together?! Then we were up in the morning to enjoy a great hot breakfast and then on to explore Springfield. I started to worry when the rain started. I had checked and rechecked the forecast and they weren’t supposed to have any rain so I worried it would put a damper on things, but it didn’t last long and we had a beautiful day. We explored Abraham Lincoln’s family home and enjoyed reading about his neighbors as we walked up and down his street.
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We were told the Lincoln Museum was definitely worth our time to visit so we made our way there. It was amazing! We were there for a couple hours and could have spent more time there exploring. The videos they had there were amazing as well with their effects that made you feel you were right in the center of the Civil War or at some other point of Lincoln’s life.
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Our last historical stop was at Lincoln’s tomb. We were disppointed it was partly under construction and we couldn’t go up onto the different outside levels, but it was still neat to walk through.
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After our long morning we had a late lunch at Applebee’s. I’m sure the waitress was surprised to have a table of 6 women all order steaks! We had really worked up an appetite.
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After dinner we were ready to be pampered a little more. I had called different nail salons the afternoon before while I was at the airport and found a place that would take all 6 of us for Saturday afternoon so we all enjoyed a little pampering. Most of us got both a manicure and pedicure, but Mom just opted for a manicure.
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We finished off our big day by attending an outdoor theater, The Muni, where we saw ‘The Secret Garden’. It was a great production, especially for a community theater, and we had almost front row seats, which always makes the show seem more real to me.
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We were all exhausted but happy when we made our way back to the hotel that night. Then first thing the next morning we drove Mom back home in time for us all to start dispersing our separate ways again. It was such a great weekend having all the ‘girls’ together with everything working out almost better than we had planned. Mom was such a sport and we were grateful we were able to do something to celebrate her, who she is, and what she has helped all of us become. Happy birthday, Mom. We love you!
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