Surprise!

 

   It's convenient that our three sons all live in the same area south of Boston, but it's tricky to visit all three of them on the same trip because every two weeks they go to work for two weeks. They all work for the same tugboat company but their two weeks hitches overlap and it's rare that all three are home at the same time. To complicate matters, once a year they'll work three weeks on three weeks off to adjust the schedule so no one has to work six Christmases in a row.

   This schedule used to drive my mother "Coo-coo" and she only had two sons working on the tugs. We plan our trips at the point of overlap to be sure we see all three sons. This June we arrived at our youngest son Ned's home in Marshfield. Our oldest son Matt was also home and the middle son, Joe would be home in a week when his brothers will be gone to work. 

   Ned turned 40 in May. He was adamant he didn’t want a party so his wife Victoria had to plan a secret party, knowing he'd like it once it started. She planned to hold the party in the back room in a local brewery. Ned likes beer but on the morning of the party he didn't feel like going to the brewery. Victoria's best friend had flown in for the party and Victoria had to tell Ned they were meeting Emily at the brewery. 

   We all hid in the back room amidst the beer barrels. We were worried Ned might see our car in the parking lot but counted on his not being observant that day and we were correct. Emily was like bait, sitting alone and waving from a table at the end of a corridor while we hid around the corner. Ned was completely surprised and did indeed have a good time once he recovered from his shock.

Look who's forty