surprise!

So, I'm talking to my mother tonight and she catches me up on all the latest news. Most of it about people I don't even remember. I hang up and think, "Now what on earth are we going to talk about when I get there?" Oh, did I not mention to you bloggers that my parents do not know I'm coming? I'll just walk in the front door late Friday night. My father will most likely be up, but it would be so great if they are both sleeping. I could surprise them in the morning by just coming down the stairs and walking into the kitchen. Would never work, though, because they've got more creaks in the stairs, so I will be unable to just step over the ones I know about (a la teenage years) ... plus, the door to the room sticks and that will make noise when I open it, too. So, while most things DON'T change at home, I guess some things DO --- like more squeaks in the stairs :o)

I wonder, do you think I'm mean for surprising my parents like that? When I lived in CT, my work was halfway between my house and their house, so I would sometimes, on a whim, leave work and head the opposite direction to their house (about an hour and a half drive). Usually, they were eating at the table when I'd open the door and walk in (S.... you can picture this vividly, because that door/table/room has not changed --- remember them eating at the table when you and Julian came to get me???). I'd sit down and eat with them, then sit in the living room and watch the news with them, and then be on my way home (a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive).

The best surprise (other than this one coming up) was when I lived in Indiana. Hubby had to work one weekend at a show being held at Foxwoods Casino. I was able to get a reasonable flight out, so I joined him. We flew into Hartford, picked up the rental car, I dropped him off at the casino, and headed to my parents house. It just so happened that I timed it perfectly and walked in as they were eating dinner. My mother smiled, said hi, and went to take a bite of food when it suddenly hit her. This look of total shock came over her face as she realized I did not just drive there from my job in CT, that I was now living in Indiana and WHAT AM I DOING THERE. That was priceless.