Happy Monday morning, my lovelies. Remember how I said I had a surprise planned over the weekend? Well, it happened, and it was super duper successful and wonderful. On Saturday I drove from LA to Sacramento (6 hours, yayyyeerr) to surprise my dad for his 68th birthday.
Before I tell you the story (and announce the TBV Cleanse sales for the week), let me tell you how difficult it is to surprise a man like my dad. First of all, it’s been a rough year for our family, so he wasn’t in the best of moods come birthdaytime. He didn’t want to do much, and kept telling my mom he didn’t want to go out and celebrate and they should just hang out at home.
Secondly, he is perpetually and freakishly early everywhere. They had a 6:30 reservation, so I knew I had to be there at 5:45 if I wanted ample time to chill at the bar without worrying they were going to walk in right behind me.
And lastly… he’s your typical selfless dad who doesn’t like to do anything for himself, so instead the fun surprises and celebrations are usually reserved for the girls in the family.
Well… not this time! I was determined to make this surprise work, and timing-wise it was kinda perfect since I have been wanting an excuse to spend some time in Sac for the last several weeks.
On Saturday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn because I was so excited (after a night out, yeah I was feelin’ wild, jumped into my car to make the drive, and stopped to get an almond milk latte because coffee is my new thing. Seriously, can you believe it? I’d gone almost 24 years without having a sip of coffee, and now all of the sudden I’m weirdly in love with it.
Post-coffee, I hopped back into my car and set out on the cross-state trek. I had about 5 weeks worth of IIN health coaching classes to catch up on, so that’s how I occupied myself on the drive. Thank god for that, because anyone who has ever made that drive from So Cal to Nor Cal knows that the beautiful views (a.k.a cow pastures) get a wee bit old after a while.
^ This is Sacramento by the way. It’s beautiful.
Driving into Sacramento was lovely and grounding as it always is. Approaching your hometown after having been gone for any amount of time is always a beautiful feeling. I feel so lucky that home embodies so many good memories and such warmth and beauty in my mind. Plus, Sacramento is “the city of trees,” so it’s always gorgeous (even when it’s 95 degrees out…yikes).
I went to my best friend’s house when I arrived to get ready for the surprise, and after much internal debate decided to drive to the restaurant where I was meeting my fam almost an hour early for fear that they would be extremely early. Which they were, because they always are.
My parents are regulars at the restaurant and everyone was shocked I had beat my family there. I got them all in on the surprise so no one told them, “Oh, your daughter’s sitting over there!” My mom texted me when they are valeting the car, so I made sure to angle myself away from the door and focus on intently pretending to read the menu.
I felt them walking up behind me so I turned around in my chair and said, “HI!!” (I couldn’t help myself.)
My dad jumped back and had such a genuine look of surprise on his face I almost started wondering whether he even recognized me. “What are you doing here?!?!?!” he asked.
He was absolutely shocked. And after the shock wore off, he was totally thrilled. He hadn’t been having the best day, but the surprise was just what he needed to shake himself out of it. We had the best night catching up, eating yummy food (in your face, eating disorder) and enjoying each other’s company.
Being able to BE there, fully in the moment, without worrying about work or food or outside crap whatsoever, was so, so unbelievably wonderful. It reminded me how amazing it feels to just breathe and enjoy the beauty of each and every moment. And how important it is to connect with your loved ones, obviously.
So… why did I tell this long-winded story in the first place? A couple of reasons:
A) To remind you all, my beautiful readers, that no matter what kind of unfortunate shit is going on in your life or the lives of people you love, you can turn someone’s entire week around by doing something unexpected that you know will make them smile.
B) Even though I was kinda freaking out about the food situation that night, I put my freak out aside and was able to totally enjoy myself in the moment.
C) In honor of my dad’s birthday, I am selling TBV Cleanse Programs at a 10% discount this week. Both the summer cleanse & the original cleanse. DISCOUNT CODE = “birthday surprises.” My dad is my hero and the first person who believed in TBB fully and 100%. He helped me get the blog going with his love and support, and when I decided to leave grad school last spring he stood behind me and agreed with my choices even though the unknown was super scary.
TBV Cleanse is discounted this week on ooonnnee condition: do something special for someone you love. Surprising them is optional, but doing something special that will totally make them smile and lift their spirits is mandatory. They will love it and you will feel all warm and tingly and wonderful inside.
How was everyone else’s weekend?! Xox