SURPRISE!!!

 November 16th was both Marie and Clancy's birthday. Yes: he's the gift that keeps on giving, haha! Brie said that even though it wasn't a milestone, he should have a party. I knew I wanted to get him a Texas Roadhouse gift card since he had never been there; and he could take his new girlfriend. Brie volunteered to take care of the arrangements, and I was pleased with that. Less for me to do! But to be polite, I did ask her if she needed any help, and she only wanted food recommendations which I was happy to provide. She said that since he was a member of the local Eagles Club, she would see about having it there. It was a go!

She then decided that the party should have a 70's theme, since he was born in the 70's. Okay then! My mind immediately went to disco, but she said just 70's, like hippie stuff. So she and I ordered fringed vests that came with appropriate jewelry like a peace sign necklace, dangly feathered earrings, a headband and bracelets. Groovy baby! Of course Kitty already had this great pair of psychedelic pink bell bottoms in her wardrobe (can't make this up) and headbands and a peace sign necklace. She also decided to bring her stuffed Cheetah Sunni along, and Sunni was appropriately dressed in a denim vest, peace sign necklace and headband. Brie left to finish up last minute things and I said I'd bring Kitty with me and we'd get there in time to yell "Surprise!"

I pulled into the Eagles' parking lot a couple of minutes before 5 and told Kitty to go in. I signed Clancy's card and included the gift card: thinking how he was going to love it! Then I headed inside.

I walked into the decorated room and the people there shouted "Surprise!" I looked around and asked, "Where's Clancy?" to which they replied, "This is YOUR surprise party!" I'm sure my mouth dropped open and then I started laughing. Clancy came up to me and said, "Happy birthday!" I handed him the card and said, "Happy birthday to you since it's actually YOUR birthday!" He had gotten me a beautiful arrangement of red and white carnations. They are absolutely gorgeous! Having a new girlfriend is having a positive effect on him 😊

So the joke was on me that evening. There was so much food, the cake was HUGE; and the room had people there that I hadn't seen in  years, and those that are so special to me. People from State Farm, people from where I work now, and people that are just special to me in their own ways. I have much love for them and am so appreciative of the fact that they thought enough of me to come.

According to Kitty the only downside was there wasn't a mirror ball. But there were balloons, which I really enjoy because I'm a kid at heart. You know I took them home!

It was so nice to socialize as I did table-hopping so I could talk to everybody. I did finally eat, but not as much as I normally would have because I was talking to people and wanted to be sure I had room for the dark chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and buttercream frosting. YUM! Probably the worst part of the evening was trying to pack up everything to take home! But between Brie's car and her friend Mikayla's SUV: we did it. Teamwork makes the dream work 😉

Today is my actual birthday. Here is a picture of the cake, which was delicious and like 8 inches tall. 

And here's a new picture of me. I'm so thankful that God still has me here for many reasons! I praise His holy name. 💗

Behind the Music: He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)

 I was minding my own business, reading an online article in Rolling Stone. It was a list of the 50 best SNL music performances.  Number 29 on the list was a song called 'Violet' by Hole from around 1994. My daughters and sister really liked Courtney Love's music, while I wasn't a fan. Anyway, I'm reading the blurb about the performance and it ends with this sentence: "Ever the provocateur, she capped off Hole's performance of a song about sex and power and violence with a snatch of the Crystals' notorious 1962 single "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)." That stopped me in my tracks.

I knew I was reading it correctly but what the heck kind of song was that? The story behind the song in no way, shape or form endorses or glorifies abusive relationships. It gives you a glimpse into the mind of a young girl. I had to go to YouTube to give a listen (I do not own the rights to this song nor do I profit from it):

He hit me and it felt like a kiss

He hit me but it didn't hurt me

He couldn't stand to hear me say

That I'd been with someone new

And when I told him I had been untrue

He hit me (da da da ah) and it felt like a kiss

He hit me (da da da ah) and I knew he loved me

If he didn't care for me,

I could have never made him mad

But he hit me (da da da ah) and I was glad.

So there's more to this than meets the eye. It appears that she cheated on him which is why he hit her. But she thinks it's a sign of love. He wouldn't have been mad if he didn't care, right?

Yes, he hit me (da da da ah) and it felt like a kiss

He hit me (da da da ah) and I knew I loved him

And then, he took me in his arms

With all the tenderness there is

And when he kissed me (da da da ah), he made me his

(Da da da)

Yikes, right?

This song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. They wrote it when they found out that their babysitter, Little Eva (Boyd, of 'Locomotion' fame) was being abused by her boyfriend. When they asked her why she put up with that abuse, she said his actions were done out of love.

If you listen to the song (and I hope you do) you will notice that it sounds kind of whimsical and young girlish. This song is about falling in love with the wrong person, being so blinded by infatuation that you submit to their abuse, and thinking that it's done out of love. Yep: the girl in this song is living in a fantasy world where if the guy didn't care about you, they wouldn't be mad and hit you. Sheesh.

It's amazing what you can find out about songs if you dig deep enough. But I'll tell you one thing: in my own situation, that wasn't what it felt like. And as you can imagine: that song did NOT get a lot of radio airplay. Too controversial. I think they made the right choice.