Photo copyright: Maggie May
Officially, England is still in a drought, even though we've had weeks of continual, slashing rain with flooding in some areas. The longest day is almost upon us and we are still waiting for some warmth.
It was very warm in March, hot even but that seems ages ago now.
I am not so good with secrets......... secrets from Harry, that is. We have always shared everything and neither of us are used to having to watch our tongues in case we let the cat out of the bag.
Last week I knew that my daughter was thinking of coming for the weekend when Harry would be celebrating his 73rd Birthday. "Don't tell Dad", she said just in case the visit didn't materialise and then he'd have been disappointed.
I hadn't realised how difficult this was going to be. I had already promised to have the granddaughters to stay and also my newly acquired step grand child, making that three girls. They were coming for the night which meant I had to make up extra beds so that I could accommodate everybody.
This meant that I had to tell a few fibs about what I was doing and before I knew it, everything was getting very involved and I was becoming an accomplished liar.
I wasn't too happy about this and as the day of the arrival approached, on Saturday, a very stormy day, things were getting quite difficult and I almost had to avoid Harry altogether in case something slipped out.
However, it was really worth it in the end, just to see Harry's face when Deb, Rick and Dean walked in to the room where he was watching TV. As they live nearly 200 miles away, Harry thought he was dreaming.
He was so happy.
We were later joined by Sam and Sandy and we opened some wine and brought in a Chinese takeaway.
The next day, we went to Clevedon, a seaside near by, for a favourite walk round the cliffs and this was only marred by rain and cold but we pressed on with it, getting quite wet by the end of the trip.
"This was my very best Birthday", Harry announced after they had all gone home and the house seemed very quiet again.
Are you any good at keeping secrets?
I am useless Maggie - a bit like you really.
ReplyDeleteI really have to think about what I say because excitment bubbles over
If its a personal confidence thats different and that would never be shared
But when its a goodie its blooming hard
Great post. Despite the lashing rain I'm glad you all had a good time.
ReplyDeleteI'm adept at keeping secrets but they're usually of the mother-teen kind, ie. "I know what you're up to and I'm going to scupper your plans any day now."
Aaah that's lovely. A surprise party! Well done for pulling it off.
ReplyDeleteHarry's joy at seeing his family sure had to trump any distress from working at keeping that secret. What a lovely surprise for him.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually have too much difficulty keeping a surprise secret. I just have to go into seclusion to do it. ;)
how wonderful, a worthwhile secret
ReplyDeletesecrets are def not my fav thing...they are a slippery slope you have to dance...but i am glad in the end he had a great birthday!
ReplyDeleteWorth a little white lie......that must have warmed your heart to hear him say it was his best birthday! Happy Belated Birthday Harry! Happy Monday !
ReplyDeleteOh what a great surprise!! And you did it...good for you!! Secrets are hard to keep from hubbys for sure.
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
What a lovely surprise for Harry and 'white lies' are OK. :)
ReplyDeleteWell done for keeping this secret!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty good at it - and can wave a wonderful tale is need be. I've also found that most of the 'surprised ones' miss a lot of dropped clues until after the fact :)
a belated happy birthday to Harry!
What a fantastic surprise for Harry! My heart was lifted as I read this.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine the happiness on his face as he looked up and saw her and Rick and Dean walk in the room. Thank you for sharing this wonderful surprise with us!! It sounds like you all had a splendid time.
Hugs and love to you, Maggie...
Jackie
I can keep a secret most of the time, but I do tend to come at it sideways sometimes. I haven't actually told, but I've said too much. One thing I've definitely learned -- don't tell my husband. He tells EVERYTHING.
ReplyDeleteThat's great!! A birthday surprise is the best :-) Especially for 73. I have to admit, that I'm useless at secrets. If someone says 'Don't tell anyone', I absolutely must tell someone. I'm terrible.
ReplyDeletePeter x
I'm so pleased the surprise worked out for you both. I'm not very good at keeping secrets from my other half either, well done on managing to do it for such a good reason.
ReplyDeleteAww that's so lovely that he enjoyed it so much.I'm so glad it all went well, apart from the rain of course.
ReplyDeleteRecently it was Lovely Mans birthday and I had arranged with his family that we would go to theirs with all brothers etc and go out for a meal (it was a big 40 celebration). The secrets went well until his father sent an email to Lovely Man 2 days before the event saying 'looking forward to seeing you at the weekend'!!! Bless him, he became the butt of the joke of his own mistake all weekend!
A belated Happy Birthday to Harry! Sounds like a wonderful surprise for him. I'm no good at keeping secrets like this either. I'm afraid I would have gotten myself caught up in a web of white lies and gotten confused about what stories I had told:)
ReplyDeleteAwww, so glad Harry had a lovely birthday. But I can imagine that would have been a difficult surprise to keep. It's not easy when you are sworn to secrecy but does sound as though it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite a secretive person and do hold a lot in (okay, I know, I tell a lot on my blog, lol) but my family are often the last ones to know. Though I've never had to keep a surprise party secret!
CJ x
Other people's secrets, maybe, but I couldn't have kept something like this under my hat! Glad the day was a good one. ♥
ReplyDeleteFirst, Happy Birthday to Harry!
ReplyDeleteAs to keeping secrets, I think I'm fairly good at it. If asked point blank about something, my face gives it away. I blush at the drop of a pin. But if it's just a matter of keeping my mouth shut, I'm good!
It all worked out well in the end. A belated Happy Birthday to Harry.
ReplyDeleteNo, I am just not good at this at all. I once gave my husband a surprise birthday party, a quite large one. I had to send out invitations, order food, make plans on how to surprise him, etc. I almost didn't make it. I almost told him I felt like I was having an affair I was becoming so sneaky. ;)
ReplyDeleteIn the end, such surprises are worth it. This post just warmed my heart. I'm so glad that your family made it, and that your dear husband had such a wonderful birthday surprise.
Aww, good for you for holding that in! I'd have a hard time keeping that sort of secret, too.
ReplyDelete