Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Don't you wish your sister was fun like me?

Last year my sister and I were talking about our birthdays. I am a big baby about my b-day. I milk that sucker for all it's worth. The entire week of my birthday is my birthday and I expect special treatment the whole time! My sister, on the other hand, shared with me that she just doesn't get that excited about her birthday any more. In fact, her birthday is somewhat of a letdown for her. That night Jason and I laid in bed and hatched a plan for me to surprise her and just show up at her workplace for her birthday sometime.
This was that year! Haven had not met her Aunt Marcy, Uncle Tommy, or cousins, Ian and Tommy, so I brought her along on the trip. I solicited the help of a couple of co-conspirators, Marcy's husband (Tommy) and my mother. Tommy engaged the help of Marcy's boss and we were off and running.
My original idea was to show up at the hospital the morning of Mar's b-day and whisk her off to lunch. That morphed into whisking her off to the spa as well and I had a great time shopping on-line for spas and treatments for us to enjoy together. Bringing Haven made the plan just a little bit more complicated, but my mother was more than pleased to keep her for me while Mar and I pampered ourselves. Haven and I flew in to Tampa on Wednesday evening and Mom met us at the airport. Haven was a nightmare at dinner. I'm pretty sure she was just sick and tired of being corralled all day! Mom let me know that there was a minor change in our plans since Tommy actually arranged for Mar to have the day off for her birthday. Now we would be surprising her at her house instead of at the hospital. No problem. The only thing I was really worried about was Haven. She was a mess until we got out of the airport! Once we were back at mom's place Haven settled right in. She even slept like a champion. Mom and I conspired to get up around seven and head to Marcy's (which is in Lakeland, about 50 minutes away) at 9:30 a.m.
Haven and I overslept, not dragging ourselves out of bed until shortly after eight. Then, Marcy called Mom and said, "What are your plans for the day?" Mom told her she didn't have any, so Mar said, "Well, I have the day off for my birthday and I thought I could come to Tampa and have lunch with you." Mom was thinking on her feet and said that was a great plan but that she had some errands to run beforehand. They arranged to meet at 11:30 which would still give Mom, Haven, and me a chance to get to her house before she left it. We had to leave about twenty minutes earlier than we had planned, so we hurried around and zoomed off to Lakeland. I was feeling really nervous in the car! We were almost to her house when Tommy called and said he'd meet us there (he didn't want to miss out on the surprise). We pulled in to Marcy's driveway and Tommy pulled in just after us. Apparently Marcy heard the cars because she pulled open the back door just as we were approaching it. Mom and Tommy were in front, so that's who Mar saw first. Then she saw Haven and I. I'm pretty sure she really was surprised!
I got Haven settled in at Marcy's house, then we were off to the spa! We had an amazing four hours of pampering. We enjoyed a pedicure with hot stone massage, a moisture therapy hand wrap, a fabulous facial, and a tropical body wrap. Now, I'd never had a body wrap before and wasn't prepared for it, so I'm going to give you the scoop in case your sister ever whisks you off for a spa day.
The tropical body wrap was amazing...once I got over the sense that someone was actually bathing me. After changing into a lovely paper bra and panty ensemble, I laid down on what I can only describe as a bathtub table which was covered with towels, plastic, and more towels. Some of those towels then went over my nakedness. Then the spa person (I really have no idea how to identify her position...maybe I'll refer to her as the "bather") wet me down with a long arm covered with shower heads that was somehow attached to the ceiling. Yes, she wet both the towels and my skin. Afterward, she buffed my body with something that smelled fruity and wonderful. The sensation was akin to a light massage. Next she rinsed me again and then replaced my wet towels with dry ones. That was followed with a tropical body mask which she massaged into my skin. Then she wrapped me in plastic (seriously) and left me to baste for a while. I was so relaxed that I dozed off and only woke up when my own snore startled me. Then my own personal bather came back in, hosed me down once again, and then lotioned me thoroughly. It was heavenly.
After all of that, Marcy and I stumbled into a nearby restaurant for soup and an appetizer. The food revived us sufficiently for us to drive home. We all had a good couple of days. I got to spend time with my mother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother, nephews and furry niece (Daisy). I was exhausted by the time Haven and I flew home EARLY Saturday morning, but it was a fun, fast trip. Now, all I can think about is what Marcy is going to expect next year!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

That was sweet of you to sacrifice yourself by taking ANOTHER plane trip to Florida and being forced to go to a spa for the day! What we won't do for our sisters!

jamiechrystin said...

Awwwweee! You are so awesome! Even though I am POSITIVE that you enjoyed it as much as she did, that really was awesome of you to think of her like that, and I am sure that meant the world to her! It sounds like it was GREAT! I am jealous!

jamiechrystin said...

Awwwweee! You are so awesome! Even though I am POSITIVE that you enjoyed it as much as she did, that really was awesome of you to think of her like that I am sure that meant the world to her! And it sounds so great! I am jealous!