Surprise 80th Birthday Bash: A Night to Remember

Next Tuesday, April 21, 2026, is my 80th. birthday. Thank you very much for your well wishes, dear cyberspace friends, but let me say you would be late for that party – no, seriously, really late to that party – because I have family and friends who gave me a fabulous Surprise Birthday Party on Friday night, the 20th. of March. Well wishers from every decade of my adult life, well wishers galore.

Despite several hints that appeared by mistake in my text messages, speaker phone in our car, and confirming to me that they wouldn’t miss my party several weeks before the actual event I had no knowledge of, I never suspected a thing when Pretty insisted we go to a “pop-up” for our daughter-in-law and her twin sister on a Friday night in March. I am always reluctant to participate in activities away from the comfort of my recliner, or my “happy place” as Pretty calls it. At the same time Pretty knows I would do anything to support Caroline and Chloe’s business venture into the world of selling their delicious goodies. Yummy.

When we entered the large venue at 701 Whaley Street in Columbia at 7:00 o’clock, I stopped at the door of the ground floor, peeked inside, and told Pretty I thought this was the wrong place. The room was full of people who apparently were having a meeting of some kind as all were looking expectantly toward the door. I assumed they were waiting for a speaker until Pretty nudged me in.

The room erupted in Happy Birthday singing which I later learned was led by our six-year-old granddaughter Ella and four-year-old granddaughter Molly. They had microphones, but I couldn’t hear them above the adults who had chimed in. I recognized all of the people who were standing closer to the entrance, but it honestly never dawned on me that this was a party for my birthday until Jo Ann, one of our California Tahoe Ten friends, came up to hug me and say Happy Birthday! Jo Ann was as happy to see me as I was to see her!

Six women flew from California to surprise me for a birthday bash.

four of them were new friends from our Tahoe Trip in 2023 –

(Audrey and Debra were with Pretty and me for my 60th. birthday!)

(l to r) Debra, Pretty, me, Audrey, Jo Ann, Chris (back row)

Angie, Joan, Nekki, Francie

me, Chris, Nekki and Francie

Every great surprise requires inspiration, planning, and execution. The California girls stayed for the weekend, and I found out Audrey, a South Carolina native who has lived in California for most of her adult life, provided the inspiration when she called Nekki and Francie to suggest the California contingent of the Tahoe Ten would head across the country for a birthday celebration if we could celebrate in March?

Francie and Nekki jumped on board and generously offered their home as vacation quarters for the trip. Pretty, of course, had to be part of the planning, but I understood she was in charge of security which had several breaches that she miraculously used her powers of spontaneous fabrication to cover up. Finally, someone had to be in charge of “memories collections” and presentation. Enter Rob, a great friend in Columbia, who had the tedious chore of sifting through eighty years of memories to create the following presentation I finally managed to enjoy last week. I invite you to watch if you want to make the journey with me. And have a few minutes to spare.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1625052428643610

I tried to speak and take pictures with everyone who came, but that was impossible. The party co-conspirators said more than a hundred people came to surprise me on a Friday night in March. I was overwhelmed by the decorations, fabulous music played by a great DJ, tables for everyone who wanted to sit to enjoy the incredible food and adult beverages – no stone left unturned for fun together in the salute to my Texas heritage with a Rhinestone Cowboy theme.

Nekki, our head wrangler/emcee, encouraged people to give “testimonies” and share memories. Dick Hubbard, Linda Ketner, and Carmen Del Valle were among the speakers – I had known them over several lifetimes in my South Carolina adult life, and they were all very kind. Who was this person they remembered??

I was especially stirred with feelings of love and gratitude for not only the words Drew and Caroline, Ella and Molly spoke that night in front of the large gathering of people who knew our family mostly through Facebook pictures, but also their smiles. Memory makers. When T spoke, she had to know the happiness we shared during our twenty-five years together. These smiles are our dream keepers.

Drew holding Molly, Caroline, Ella

who knew four-year-old Molly would love a microphone?

Thank you, thank you, thank you – a thousand times thank you to the friends and family across the years who took the girl out of Texas to give her a forever home in South Carolina. I have a grateful heart and understand the meaning of feeling blessed. Whether from near or far, your presence was a gift at 701 Whaley Street on a Friday evening in March, 2026.

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Bonus Pic nothing to do with anyone’s birthday – just a favorite of mine

Please stay tuned.