MY SISTER BARBIE’S 80th SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Liz Barrett, Annapolis, MD, May, 2019
Cast of other characters include Barbie’s son and my nephew, Dickie; my ex-daughter-in-law Bambi; my eldest sister, Loie; and Bambi’s boyfriend, Farid.
Background: My sister Barbie lives alone, in a senior condo in Severna Park, MD, just ten minutes from me. She has dementia but is in good physical health. Her 80thbirthday was approaching. Her son Dickie made plans for the surprise: 40 people were invited for a catered party to be held in her condo’s Community Room.
As an added surprise for Barbie, my eldest sister Loie, age 88, decided to come visit. Loie lives in a retirement community in Bangor, Maine. She has difficulty getting around, uses a walker, is pretty frustrated with her lack of mobility, and yet her mind is still in superb condition. She is addicted to her cell phone, worse than a teenager. A flight for her is a rare event, but because it was going to be such a great surprise for Barbie, I asked her to come here. Bryan and I moved upstairs to give Loie our downstairs bedroom and left the party planning to my nephews.
On Friday morning, my nephews, wives, and a couple of children paid a surprise visit to Barbie. She was beyond excited and called to tell me about it. We planned a celebratory family brunch for Saturday noon at our favorite restaurant. Obviously I couldn’t tell her there would be a 4:00 pm surprise party, but I knew the brunch would be a perfect opportunity for Loie to surprise her.
On Friday afternoon Bryan and I were getting ready to leave for the airport to pick up Loie. At 2:45, I got a text from Loie in Philly telling me her flight to Baltimore BWI had been delayed. At 3:30 her flight was canceled — we couldn’t believe it. She could get a later flight at 9:30 pm from Philly to National Airport, about 45 minutes from us in DC; but we did not want her to have to wait 6 hours at the Philly airport – all of it difficult with just her walker and no companion and exhausted. So in the midst of a huge thunderstorm, rush hour traffic and horrible visibility, Bryan and I drove to the Philadelphia airport to fetch her. It was a 3 1/2 hour nightmare-of-a-drive for us, followed by a long delay trying to locate her one bag. My least favorite statement from any customer service rep is now, “I’m not sure where it is, but it’s in the system.”
We arrived back home at 10:30 pm. I went ahead with the yummy crab cake dinner we were all looking forward to, followed by a dessert of fresh stewed rhubarb with cream. In spite of our exhaustion, it was all scrumptious and we three had a lovely candlelit dinner. We went to bed well after midnight, completely wiped out. Loie announced that she did not want to do anything on Saturday until the party at 4:00 pm. Her last words: “I don’t want to get up before noon!” I was disappointed to have to back out of our planned brunch, but I understood.
So Saturday morning I called my nephews to cancel brunch. Dickie told me that at 3:30 am, Barbie had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. She had a high fever and a leg so painful that she couldn’t walk. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong but said she would have to stay in the hospital until they could get a better picture of what was going on. At 10:00 am, the surprise party and catering were cancelled, and Dickie began to schedule 24-hour help at her condo before she could be allowed home. I could give her some of my time, but certainly not all…
Barbie still didn’t know that Loie was here from Maine; so early afternoon Loie and I went to the hospital to surprise her. She most certainly was completely surprised! Even though she was not allowed to get out of bed, we all enjoyed the celebration with a delicious Maine seafood stew I’d been saving in my freezer. Though nothing seemed wrong with Barbie, she still had to remain there, a huge frustration for her. Late afternoon Loie and I left the hospital and Barbie. A dozen family came over to our house for a delightful back yard supper party around the pool. The weather was lovely, and we lit the fire pit for the evening. Bambi brought yummy appetizers and a meal of kabobs from Farid’s restaurant. More rhubarb for dessert. It was all terrific for all of us except for Barbie.
On Sunday, we went to the hospital with more stew and entertainment for Barbie. Most of the day was spent in her room — still no information from the doctor about what might be wrong with her! Dickie continued to work on the 24-hr care schedule.
Monday morning Dickie called me to tell me that Barbie had returned home Sunday night. The PT person reported that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Barbie or her leg. We took Loie to the airport. End of story. End of weekend!
Footnote for Foodies: if you, too, love Maine seafood like we do, you must try Laura’s Seafood stew at The Red Barn in Augusta (455 Riverside Drive). You can even get it frozen on their web site — just add cream. Of course, the shipping costs more than the stew, and one cup of the stew is 800 calories! 🤗
