Over the Labor Day weekend, my family headed for the North Shore to help my mom pull off a surprise 70th birthday party for my dad. The hard part was getting him out of the house for about five hours while mom feigned illness so she could stay behind to set up for the party.
At breakfast she was crabby toward him and told him he needed to help her out a little more. At first I thought, “Hey, it’s his birthday. We should be nicer to him.”
But then I thought, “Good cover, Mom!”
If you are too nice to my dad he gets really suspicious.
Finally, ten of us convinced him he needed to see the Alpine Slide again. He once had an offer for a free ride, but he didn’t take it. The slide has been there for more than twenty years and he has not ridden it once! Thatwas a surprise to me. I thought he liked to “ride the edge.” The rest of us were jealous. We’d take all the free rides we could get! I love this ride and the weather was perfect. From the top you could see Lake Superior. If you have not had the chance to actually ride the slide, check it out on You-Tube. Those video tapes make it feel pretty real.
Okay, the Alpine Slide visit killed about 90 minutes—only three and a half to go. Try finding pizza in the middle of the day in Lutsen. Surprise! No pizza. If it can be done, we missed it. We tried three restaurants and not a pizza in sight. We finally settled on nachos and burgers on the hill. My dad got the local discount on a $4.00 cup of soup. Saved us 80 cents, but it all adds up!
Another 60 minutes gone by……now what do we do? We decided to drive to Tofte Holiday for ice cream. With eleven people in two vans, a trip to Holiday can last a good 45 minutes—if you play your cards right and have the kids go in one at a time! Grandpa didn’t suspect a thing as he licked his Eskimo Pie. Minus the drive times we still had an hour and fifteen minutes to go….now what? A hike on the Temperance River might be just about right.
We drove straight to seventh pool because we had four kids and those cliffs make me nervous. (Surprise! I’m not a nervous mom….ask anyone!)
I cannot believe my parents let us swim at the bottom, jumping from ledges into God knows what. At that time swimming and climbing was an everyday pastime. There was even a rope hung from an old log down there where we could climb up to the next pools and jump through the water falls.
No thank you, my boys had to make do wading in three inches of water and throwing rocks. Sorry, boys.
Dad finally had enough and he was ready to head for home. If you know my dad, he’s what we like to refer to as a “barn horse.” Thatis a horse that, when turned towards home, takes off like a shot. He was on his way!
The hard part was getting him to stop at the Schroeder Town Hall where 100 of his closest family and friends were waiting to jump out and yell surprise! We told him they had a plumbing emergency! I think he was suspicious when there were about 75 cars in the parking lot. I couldn’t make eye contact with him; I just headed straight for the door. He was really shocked.
Once he recovered he said he was surprised anyone showed up. Dad teased my mom and visited with old friends, new friends, neighbors and relatives that drove from all over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Some local musical talent showed up to play for the night. These guys and one beautiful girl were really good.
I asked my mom what was the hardest part about pulling off a surprise party for dad. She said convincing people he was really turning 70! Surprise! It’s true.
Happy Birthday Dad! We all love you!
And in the end, it’s not the
years in your life that count.
It’s the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln
Leave a Reply