The Rise of a Novelist: Mom's Surprise 50th Birthday Party

My mom turned the big 5-0 on October 24th. She kept mentioning how no one wanted to do anything for her birthday and was really upset about it. Meanwhile, I had been planning a surprise party for her since September. Since I don't know the addresses of many of her friends, I created a private Facebook event. I was extremely nervous for the whole month. Not only did I have to study for an exam, but I had to pull off this surprise. It was important to me that my mom had a birthday that she'd always remember. I couldn't believe it, but there were about 30 people that RSVP'd that they'd be there - 30!? My dad and I went to a local restaurant/bar and reserved an area for the night and it was set. We even made sure that we went out on her actual birthday, on Wednesday, to throw her off. Her one friend invited some of my mom's friends and we went out for dinner and drinks. We even facetimed my brother TWICE that day, because she was upset he wasn't coming home from school - once when she opened her birthday present (yes, we even got her a birthday present too) and again when we were out to dinner, it got quite emotional. Little did she know that he'd be making a surprise appearance later in the week. It was great though, and she really thought that was it for her birthday celebrations.

That Friday I took my mom out shopping for an outfit. I thought it'd be great to finally be able to spend time together. We went to the mall and immediately ate lunch. We needed fuel before we walked around the mall looking for THE perfect outfit. Even though it was a little early, we decided to have some sangria with lunch to start the celebrations. I told her that Sal and I wanted to take her out for dinner, with my father too of course!

After our California Pizza Kitchen lunch, we did end up finding the perfect outfit, at Express. Afterwards she got a cappuccino and I refueled with some water. She told me she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home to sleep; she even suggested just ordering pizza at home, but I was not about to let this surprise party become a failure. I've gotten pretty good at throwing surprise parties - okay, this is only my second one... but they were both successful!

We headed home, but decided to stop at the grocery store to gather supplies and food for Hurricane Sandy. We wanted to be prepared early in case we lost power or got stuck in the house. We stocked up on batteries, flashlights, and tons of sandwich meat and cheese. We quickly put the things away and began getting ready for the night. I told everyone to be at the restaurant at 7:30pm and I told them I'd be bringing my mom around 8:00pm. Sal picked us up and drove, letting us out right at the door. We hopped out and I walked in as if nothing was special.

My mom's face says it all... she had absolutely no idea.

While everyone shouted 'surprise' and 'happy birthday,' we made our way around thanking everyone for coming and saying hello. I honestly couldn't believe how many people had showed up, just for my mom.

She was even more shocked and emotional when she saw my brother sitting there with a smirk on his face.

So the surprise was a success, and the more friends and loved ones she saw, the happier she got.

She kept thanking my brother and I, and we just smiled at each other. Knowing that we pulled off the ultimate surprise, because she honestly thought no one was going to do anything big for her - I mean how crazy is that - no party for your 50th!?

My dad ordered pizzas, since they're known for their pizzas, and buckets of beer for everyone. Sal even walked over to the pizza place he used to work at, and made mussels, especially for my mom and dad.

My brother and I had ordered a cake at Baskin Robbins, a specially made cake, just for my mom with chocolate chip mint ice cream, her favorite, and vanilla cake. It had to be one of the best cakes I've ever had, aside from the cookie dough one at Coldstones!

The party went well into the night, and as people started leaving, we could tell that everyone had a good time, my mom especially. I snapped as many pictures as I could to document the entire night.