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I'm Sally O'Malley
Jul. 16th, 2024 04:40 amI was sick longer than I hoped, which definitely messed up that timeline from a couple posts back. I rescheduled both tattoo appointments for this week and had to back out of my first of many scheduled sub shifts at Mukilteo. Thankfully the only plan for my 50th birthday weekend was a visit from our friend Stacy, who we always have a blast with watching a silly movie or two.
But that was a lie.
Just minutes after Stacy got here, the doorbell rang again. It was Ana! How fun, the four of us can just hang out! No wonder Garrett got two new inflatable beds.
The doorbell rang again. It was Curtis and Brad! I was hoping to see them soon because they recently moved back to Washington from Phoenix, but way over in Port Townsend. So that's fun! Another ring of the doorbell, it was Jayme and Andrew up from Portland! Wow! Garrett said we were going to dinner as a group and two more people would meet us there.
That was a lie, too.
Chrissie from water fitness was in the lobby so I figured those last two people were Chrissie and Ivy. Makes total sense, those two hang out a lot. We were told to head upstairs, which made sense because a table for ten would be hard to come by on the main level of Terra Cotta Red, which I guess you could call my favorite restaurant in Everett. My favorite dish in the city doesn't come from there, but one dish doesn't make a favorite whole restaurant.
Well it wasn't just a table for ten that was waiting for me up there. It was about 53 people total. Garrett had been secretly planning a huge surprise party for weeks, which was a truly impressive feat since he doesn't really know a lot of those people. One lucky break for him came when Chrissie invited us over to her place for lunch; Garrett was able to get her alone for a moment and recruit her to help invite YMCA people. They had the table closest to the door and insisted on a group shot first thing.
Clockwise from left: Debi, Judy, Heather, Sabrina, Ivy, me, and Chrissie
Walking in the door was a huge "oh shit" moment because I was already completely exhausted. Sitting around and watching a movie sounded like the absolute perfect evening as I was just starting to feel mostly normal after being sick for two weeks, and my voice wasn't all the way back. And then I realized I'd have to walk around the entire room and visit with everyone. A very big room filled with tons of people.
I made it all the way around to everyone, ducked over to the buffet to make a small plate of dinner, and barely finished the last bite before I was asked to take the stage and open presents. Garrett asked people over and over not to bring presents because I'm a gift truce advocate, but some people just can't be stopped. And I don't mind because we now have some lovely new cacti, an incredible hand-made pitcher and mugs, and some very fun tank tops and books. And enough bags of chips that I doubt I can get through them all.
(I like to try all the new flavors of chips that come out, and that's basically as many chips as I eat. It can take weeks to get through a bag and by the time I do, some other new flavor arrives.)
At least I thought to wear my new space dinosaurs shirt. It was definitely a hit.
Garrett, Stacy, Ana, and I stayed up until 1am visiting! Absolutely unheard of these days. In fact last night I couldn't sleep well, so I've actually been awake almost the whole time since 1am, except for a quick snooze I managed to get in before my 4am alarm.
Lisa said I gave a very beautiful speech about water fitness and I'm glad to hear it because I really can't remember what I said. I mean I know it must have been about how important it is to find community but the whole thing was a blur.
I'm sure it was very stressful for Garrett to go against my wishes but it was extremely important to him to have my 50th birthday be big and special and I'm grateful that he didn't listen to me.
But that was a lie.
Just minutes after Stacy got here, the doorbell rang again. It was Ana! How fun, the four of us can just hang out! No wonder Garrett got two new inflatable beds.
The doorbell rang again. It was Curtis and Brad! I was hoping to see them soon because they recently moved back to Washington from Phoenix, but way over in Port Townsend. So that's fun! Another ring of the doorbell, it was Jayme and Andrew up from Portland! Wow! Garrett said we were going to dinner as a group and two more people would meet us there.
That was a lie, too.
Chrissie from water fitness was in the lobby so I figured those last two people were Chrissie and Ivy. Makes total sense, those two hang out a lot. We were told to head upstairs, which made sense because a table for ten would be hard to come by on the main level of Terra Cotta Red, which I guess you could call my favorite restaurant in Everett. My favorite dish in the city doesn't come from there, but one dish doesn't make a favorite whole restaurant.
Well it wasn't just a table for ten that was waiting for me up there. It was about 53 people total. Garrett had been secretly planning a huge surprise party for weeks, which was a truly impressive feat since he doesn't really know a lot of those people. One lucky break for him came when Chrissie invited us over to her place for lunch; Garrett was able to get her alone for a moment and recruit her to help invite YMCA people. They had the table closest to the door and insisted on a group shot first thing.
Clockwise from left: Debi, Judy, Heather, Sabrina, Ivy, me, and Chrissie
Walking in the door was a huge "oh shit" moment because I was already completely exhausted. Sitting around and watching a movie sounded like the absolute perfect evening as I was just starting to feel mostly normal after being sick for two weeks, and my voice wasn't all the way back. And then I realized I'd have to walk around the entire room and visit with everyone. A very big room filled with tons of people.
I made it all the way around to everyone, ducked over to the buffet to make a small plate of dinner, and barely finished the last bite before I was asked to take the stage and open presents. Garrett asked people over and over not to bring presents because I'm a gift truce advocate, but some people just can't be stopped. And I don't mind because we now have some lovely new cacti, an incredible hand-made pitcher and mugs, and some very fun tank tops and books. And enough bags of chips that I doubt I can get through them all.
(I like to try all the new flavors of chips that come out, and that's basically as many chips as I eat. It can take weeks to get through a bag and by the time I do, some other new flavor arrives.)
At least I thought to wear my new space dinosaurs shirt. It was definitely a hit.
Garrett, Stacy, Ana, and I stayed up until 1am visiting! Absolutely unheard of these days. In fact last night I couldn't sleep well, so I've actually been awake almost the whole time since 1am, except for a quick snooze I managed to get in before my 4am alarm.
Lisa said I gave a very beautiful speech about water fitness and I'm glad to hear it because I really can't remember what I said. I mean I know it must have been about how important it is to find community but the whole thing was a blur.
I'm sure it was very stressful for Garrett to go against my wishes but it was extremely important to him to have my 50th birthday be big and special and I'm grateful that he didn't listen to me.
