40-4-Steve: Surprise!

I turned 44 on Saturday. We went to a museum in San Francisco that none of us had visited before (more on that later), Steve made amazing cheese fondue for dinner (bread and cheese are two of my favorite things ever) and we had Baskin-Robbins clown cones for dessert (I'm obsessed with Baskin-Robbins). It was a great birthday!

As you know, I've been working on annual birthday projects since 2012 when I turned 40. They've been awesome. This year, I'm using my 44th as an opportunity to share the experience with Steve, who turned 40 in January. I'm calling it "40-4-Steve" and you can read about it here. Time to start sharing what we've done so far!

Steve's 40th birthday fell on a Tuesday. Months ahead, I written "Something special!" on our shared calendar. I really wanted to throw him a surprise party, but it wouldn't be much of a surprise on his actual birthday. What if I held it a day early? Mondays are our Cub Scout nights. Steve would never suspect a Cub Scout event was actually a surprise party for him!

I made many covert emails and phone calls. (It is very hard to plan a surprise party for someone you're around 24/7). I set up a party at the Food Bank and invited the Cub Scouts, Steve's family, and our friends. I was so nervous. I just about had a heart attack 2 hours before the party when Steve announced that work was crazy and that I might need to just take Trevor to Cub Scouts on my own! Ack! Fortunately, Steve got his work done. What a relief! And to my delight, Steve was completely surprised and thrilled with his party.

I don't know if other county food banks offer birthday parties like ours does, but it's absolutely something to check out. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano offers free birthday parties for kids and adults in their warehouses. You provide your own food and cake, and the Food Bank provides a meaningful service project for the guests to do. We bagged produce for distribution during Steve's party, which was a lot of fun. They also provide information about hunger in the area and how they help. I asked guests to bring a donation to the Food Bank in lieu of gifts for Steve. The whole evening was a win for everyone. Thanks to everyone who made it great.