Surprise Weekend

Katie D.

April 24, 2011 - 4:26 PM

This has been the best Easter weekend ever.

I spoke with my aunt last Sunday, and she mentioned that several cousins would be in Denver for Easter, including my cousin Lindsay, who is getting married in September. The fiance would be there, too. This would be my one chance to meet Nick before he married Lindsay, and the first time such a large concentration of cousins had been at a holiday in a long, long time.

So I booked a flight! I came home for the weekend without telling anyone but my aunt and cousin Paul. He picked me up from the airport and took me to my dad's house, where a sneaky text from aunt Michelle had kept him at home for Friday night. So I had the enormous joy of ringing the doorbell of my old house, and seeing my dad's face when he saw me standing there. It was so, so fun.

I spent the evening hanging out with him and our neighbors, catching up and feeling very smug about my surprise. Then Saturday morning I called my mom with cheerful stories of my Eugene weekend plans, and asked what she had planned for the day. When she said she would be working out sometime later in the morning, I got off the phone fast and my dad drove me over to surprise her. This time it was even better: her front door was unlocked and I got to walk halfway into her house before she even knew I was there!

The final surprise was today, when my grandmother came over for Easter dinner. Gran Fran will be turning 92 this summer, and is still as smart and as independent as ever. She still lives in the house where my father grew up, and is busy creating her life as she best sees fit--cooking food for her neighbors, keeping track of her family, painting, reading, and gardening. The woman is a force of nature. And it was so fun to walk down the stairs to greet her and hear her say "Katie, my gosh you weren't supposed to be here!"

I love being sneaky.

The weekend was perfect all around. I went to the Denver Botanical Gardens with my mom, and walked around for hours. We hung out in Downtown as well, and then did some gardening. I also got to see the beautiful condo she just bought, which is in a neighborhood she's been a part of as a renter for a year, and where she is surrounded by wonderful neighbors. Now she will even have a view: both mountains and a lake, which is a premium in Colorado.

Dad and I went out on Saturday night to meet Lindsay, Nick, and Paul for drinks. It was so fun! Both Lindsay and Nick work in the film industry in Hollywood. Lindsay is a Production Coordinator, and Nick is an up-and-coming writer/director. Their wedding this September will be the first family wedding for my generation. I am so thrilled by how happy they are, and to know such a wonderful pair of people.

I also got to watch The Office with my dad, go to church with my mom (and see some folks I hadn't seen in years!) and generally enjoy being home. The only part of the weekend that wasn't perfect was that my little sister, Kelly, wasn't able to get away from her performance schedule and work. I really missed her being part of our family celebration, and would have loved the chance to really catch up.

This weekend also made me realize that I've become a bit stuck in my routines. I've been busy with class and work. I've fallen into the Eugene trap of circulating in the same social groups and seeing the same parts of town day after day. As happy as I am with my Eugene life, I was also needing a change. A last minute, surprise trip to Denver was the perfect diversion. With just over a month of classes left, I feel so capable to get back into the swing of school, and to keep on living my college life.

Surprise! Happy Easter everyone.