My To Do List

My To Do list for Saturday went like this:

60 load Snuggle refill

Clean out Civic

Go to Laundromat

Go see Jeffersons

I bought the Snuggle refill first thing Saturday morning. But much to the Civic's chagrin, the clean out, that it has needed since spring, never happened. It was to occur in conjunction with the laundromat visit, which didn't happen either.

However, "go see Jeffersons" did happen. Boy did it!

Robbie and I were to meet Shauna, Donnie, and Dareek at our favorite place to eat, Friday's, at 2:30 on Saturday for a farewell lunch. Thinking ahead, and trying to outsmart the tears, I used waterproof mascara.

As we approached, I was sure I saw Pam Shipley's Durango. Anytime I see a grey Durango, I look for the "every knee shall bow" sticker. Sure enough, I checked and it was there. Strange, I thought. But Pam is a mover and a shaker. She's always out doing something. She's probably here with some other cool MOP, I thought to myself.

Robbie and I rolled into the parking lot. We saw Dareek rocking some new braids out front and Donnie lounging on a metal bench with his phone in his ear. I figured Shauna was probably inside putting our name down. And because my usually multi-tasking brain hit capacity this summer, the Durango, that looked suspiciously like Pam's, was long forgotten.

We walked up and Shauna and Donnie greeted us. Shauna looked gorgeous as usual in a crisp, white, tailored short-sleeved jacket, and a kind of old hollywood glam coif. Dareek came flying out of the door exclaiming something breathlessly that I didn't really catch.

We dished about the usual while we waited. House stuff, hair stuff, etc. Then, Dareek came back out and said our table was ready. We shuffled in and rounded the corner. Knowing, this might be the last lunch with Shauna for a while, I was already giving myself a mental pep-talk, silently chanting, "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry."

I looked up . . . and there in front of us, were about 15 of some of the coolest people we know. We had been ambushed!

There was Pam & Darin Shipley, whose backyard treehouse was the location at which Robbie chose to propose, and would be the back drop for our wedding less than four months later. Down a few chairs were Ronney & Patti Surber who have been like spiritual parents to me: Ronney with his perfectly timed, carefully chosen words of advice, and Patti with her wisdom and humor. The McKnights were present too. Casey & Kayla were there. Many of the people who have encouraged us from day one. Encouraged us in our choices, our path, and our dreams. I can remember Paula telling me one time that there was something different about Robbie. Something that made him stand out. I remember being so proud to be his wife that my throat hurt.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next!

I buried my ugly crying face (that you've all seen if you've known me for any amount of time) into my hands and tried to keep my knees from locking (because as you probably also know, I'm a fainter) as I moved toward everyone. Both Brandi(y)s were there, Diahanna George, and Kerry and her adorable, doe-eyed son Aidan.

It was very thoughtful for everyone to come out on a Saturday in the middle of the day to show their support for us. And I can't believe Shauna, who is busier than a one-armed man in a paper-hanging business, put all of this together. But if anyone can pull it off, it's her!

You will all be missed and thought of often! We felt very blessed and loved!