Are you a fan of surprises? Not everyone is. Some people like life to follow the script, deriving delight from the tried and true “expectedness” of life.  But I guess I’m much more the opposite type- relishing those surprising moments (even the somewhat unpleasant surprises) that no one could possibly see coming  (A truly tragic surprise is another thing entirely. The fewer of those the better, needless to say.)

Surprises of the week?  On one end of the spectrum would be the wonderful birthday surprise which Mark cooked up for Polly yesterday. . .  a surprise celebration of a landmark birthday for Polly.  ( I’m trying to blurt out a little less of other people’s personal information in this blog. so let’s just say that it was somewhere between Polly’s 10th b-day and her 80th.)    In one way it was nothing spectacular. . . not a hot air balloon ride or anything like that. . . just friends and family gathered at the house.  In fact, there wasn’t even the walk-in-the-house-and-everyone-shouts-Surprise! thing, which was just fine.  It was the simpler scenario of the doorbell ringing just as Polly thought they would be heading to the mall for some shopping- (with kathy, and the ruse was that Kathy really needed to have lunch with a friend going through something difficult, which is why the trip was delayed until 2.)   And it’s Kathy’s dad, there to wish her happy birthday.  And two minutes later, Kathy and I show up.  And two minutes later, it’s Paula and Sam,  and so on.  Delicious!  Mark amazes me.  When he’s not earning Father-of-the-Year honors, he’s earning Husband-of-the-Year honors. I really hate that guy.

Other end of the spectrum surprise- nothing terribly calamitous but rather unpleasant all the same: Tuesday night, in part to celebrate the Big Office CleanUp, Kathy and I met Marshall to see the most recent Harry Potter movie.  It was a great night except when I zipped out at one point to replenish my $4.50 large diet pepsi. . .  and as I’m hurrying back to my seat,  I manage to bump said large drink on the back of one of the seats –  and it goes crashing to the floor and spilling everywhere like some sort of small, messy grenade. And of course, it happens just as I’ve reached front and center of the theater, right in front of Kathy and Marshall, who howl with laughter, and everyone else.  It brought to mind that moment in one of the Pee Wee Herman movies when the Paul Reubens character takes a nasty spill from his beloved bike in front of a bunch of kids, and immediately leaps to his feet saying “I meant to do that.”  If only.

Other surprises of the week- (It’s a fun little exercise. Try it sometime. And if you can’t come up with a single one, you’re doing something wrong. ). . .  Wowing the crowd at the Kenosha Pops concert Wednesday night with a high Eflat at the end of “The Impossible Dream” that people didn’t see coming. . .

. . . receiving a really sweet, out-of-the-blue thank you note from Caleb Sjogren, who sang in the recent chamber singer alumni program on June 24th, thanking kathy and I for various kindnesses over the years. . .

. . . easily the most stunning surprise of all had to be the news that Weston Noble, the long-time choir director at Luther College and one of the best known choral names in the whole country (now retired from Luther but still an active clinician) has accepted the invitation of Carthage to come direct the Carthage College for at least most of the fall semester as a special guest.  Apparently he is nearly as thrilled at the opportunity as we are at the prospect of him coming to join us.  Once upon a time, I dreamt of the possibility that someday I would come back to Luther as a faculty member, my office right down the hall from Mr. Noble’s.  Well, this script is a whole lot better than the one I was conjuring up.

. . . I almost forgot a sweet, surprising moment from the birthday party.  Most of us were sitting out on the patio – and it was a gorgeous day – when Kathy’s dad suddenly said “look at those interesting clouds.”  And sure enough, above our heads were some beautiful cirrus clouds, which none of us would have noticed had Bob not pointed them out.  And we were all staring up in the sky for a few moments, enjoying the lovely sight.  Sometimes all people need is a gentle nudge to notice something lovely which they might otherwise miss.

. . .  Here’s the last one, because it’s 7:43 and I’ve got church at 8:30, and I’m still sitting here in my you-know-what’s. Yesterday, just as I was preparing to leave for the Racine Theater Guild for that night’s performance of the musical, I found the dogs standing silently at the patio door, staring out at something with rapt attention.  I looked into the yard and couldn’t see anything except a nondescript wren which I’m pretty sure couldn’t be the object of such fascination.  And then I finally saw it-  in the big urn of flowers right outside the window. . . a beautiful little bunny munching on the blooms.  I’m not sure what was cooler- the bunny itself in this unexpected place, or the dogs watching it as though they were watching the newest episode of their most favorite television program.   It was sad to finally have to pound on the patio door and send the little thing scurrying, but the alternative was to have Kathy come home to find a pot full of empty stems where once there had been lovely flowers. . . which would have been an entirely different kind of surprise – the unpleasant kind.

May your life this week be rich with surprises – and far more pleasant ones than unpleasant!