65th Birthday Party Surprise

I'm happy and relieved that Mom was surprised about her birthday party! It's difficult for me to keep a secret and I had to bite my tongue a couple of times while on the phone or visiting with Mom. (I SO wanted to blog about the preparations, but Mom reads my blog!) When I made the invitations, Dad told me to put my phone number and email on the RSVP, so he wouldn't have to be worried someone would call their home and leave a message on the recorder.


Every time someone emailed or called me, I wanted to say, "Mom! Guess who's coming to your party!" But shucks, I couldn't! (I should mention that I talk to Mom just about every day.) A couple of months ago, Mom even said, "Don't worry about throwing me a party. Not many people would show anyway, I don't think." Well, Ma, you were wrong. 26 people were at the party and that's with all the flooding in the streets because of the rainstorm. They'd go through all of that, to make it there for you - that's a lot of love!


The guests were a mixture of family from Mom's side, Dad's side, Greg's family, Mom's coworkers, employees from the office... and it was held at my cousin's restaurant ~ Cafe Roux in New Orleans.


Andy, he would so fuss with me using that childhood nickname... (ahem)... Andrew opened his restaurant and catering business last month. Dad asked Andy about his business and I'd like to share part of my cousin's response:

"I am so fortunate that the Executive Chef at my last catering facility followed me in partnership on this venture. Together, we have successfully fed the likes of Laura Bush, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Brian Williams, Tommy Hilfiger, Martha Stewart and many others; and we have always received rave reviews."

He can add Eleanor Grimball to that list now! Ok, ok, so she's not a movie star, but as one of you commented in the past ~ she looks like a movie star and she was honored by having the Governor's wife in her classroom. And... most importantly, she's my Mom :)

Dad and I ordered decorations online and Andy picked them up from the office. He also showed us the neat serving trays that they use. The tray is made of Cypress wood. It has two sections. One section is where the food goes and the other section, he puts pictures under the plexiglass. It was so fun to see the pictures of Mom throughout her life as we enjoyed the service.

Having the party at Andy's restaurant was great to introduce his place of business to family and friends... but even more so, because it was family for family ~ making it all the more special.

Andy even had fan signs made for everyone to hold when Mom walked through the door and we yelled "SURPRISE!". So, you might ask. Was Mom really surprised?

Well, we did find out that my Uncle Sonny in California almost gave it away. That morning, he called and mentioned, "So, today's your big day, huh?" Dad told Mom, "I don't know what he's talking about. Your birthday isn't until the 18th." I figured that I'd throw Mom a curve ball in case she had it figured out... I saw Mom soon after the phone call with Uncle Sonny and asked Mom, "Do you think it's Ok if I wear shorts to Andy's restaurant? It's so hot outside." Mom looked disappointed and I think that made her think, "No, Aleta wouldn't go to a party in that...." (She didn't know I would quickly change and rush over to the restaurant!)

So, Mom had a clue, but again, no way did she think it would be at Andy's restaurant. She thought it might be at the house after the luncheon. When Mom walked into the restaurant and she saw everyone, she said, "OH MY GOSH!" And laughed and looked teary-eyed and I heard her say, "Even all the way from Texas!" (When she saw that her sister, Mimi and her husband, Al were there.)


Mom later told me, "We have always celebrated birthdays with the immediate family. But I've never had a birthday party, where it was inviting everyone for me." I never realized that.. otherwise I would have given her one much sooner than 65 years. It made me sad to know that and happy that we did this for her all the more.

The food was delicious, there was a lot of laughter and I felt like a kid being able to write on the black chalkboard. Everyone signed it and left a happy birthday message for Mom. How fun! (Mom even wrote on the board, giving her thanks to everyone.) It was all so festive with balloons and decorations, a huge cake, three tables filled with food and servers passing around trays of food (my favorites were the Rosemary beef and Portobello Mushrooms - all the food was Very New Orleans). When Mom blew out the candles, she was sure to make a wish first and after the candles were out, her sister, Didi said, "We get to give you a spanking for each year!" (tradition - NOT! Mom gave her teacher voice saying, "NO YOU WILL NOT!" We had to laugh.)

I played shutterbug for the family, so you know I have plenty of pictures to share on my Picasa site.

For a long time I didn't know what I'd give Mom. You'll see pictures of what I gave her on the Picasa site (it's a book of pictures through her life from childhood to today... mixed with poems by Dad and me). But I'll write more about that in the next blog post. I'll say this though ~ it was a big hit! When Mom saw the gift she said, "If I had tears left, I'd be crying right now." My uncle Hollis was reading the gift and got teary eyed.. it went around the room. Mom got a lot of wonderful gifts and I'm grateful that mine touched her too, because I was worried that it wouldn't be felt.. hmm.. how do I express it?... when you put your heart and time into something you want it to be felt with all your heart when received, but that's not something you can control, just something you sure do hope for and I wasn't disappointed.

I heard someone say, "They are still so much in love." You could see it shining in my parents' eyes.

More than anything, it made me happy to see Mom smiling. She didn't stop smiling from the moment she walked in the door until the time they were packing gifts and giving hugs goodbye. As Didi said the next day, "Gay, you have to know there is a lot of love for you in this world." So very, very true. Thanks to everyone who came and shared this special day with Mom. You made her day!

(And now, Mom is enjoying saying, "No, I don't want to drink out of the coffee mug that has 65 on it, because I'm not 65 yet!" Lol. She'll make 65 on Friday.)

To see more pictures, Click Here.