Sunday Night With John: One Powerful Statement.
/It was the end of a long couple of days and I was watching the Notre Dame football game with my fiancée’s Dad. We were chatting about our jobs; they overlap quite a bit, football, and life. How we ended up in the carport outside, just the two of us, after a weekend of people, is they story that leads us to the one powerful statement that resonated with me this weekend.
After doing normal things for Anne’s parents wedding anniversary for years, Anne and her brother decided to do something special for their 40th wedding anniversary. The planning started in July, with Anne and I borrowing or “stealing” photo albums and pictures from her parents house. Next, Anne and her brother came up with a great idea to have a surprise party for them at our house in Iowa City. They didn’t want to pressure anyone to feel like they had to drive from far away, so an ingenious idea was born. They planned to send and invitation along with blank cards with self-addressed stamped envelopes and ask those who couldn’t attend to please send a note or picture along to wish their parents a happy anniversary. While they were creating the wonderful invitations, they realized it was their parent’s 39th anniversary. After wavering on going forth with it or not, they decided with it being their 39th year, it might throw their parents off the scent of a surprise party.
The invitations went out and the planning began. I felt my part in all of this would be supporting Anne and helping out. I love seeing people taking their free time and dedicating it to giving someone else a day they will never forget. It was so much fun watching Anne go through the ups and downs of planning and keeping the party a secret. My main job was to reassure her that they hadn’t figured it out yet and say yes to whatever task she asked me to leading up to the event.
The night before the event, we dressed the pig for the pig roast, ran errands, and cleaned the house. The morning of the event, Anne’s parents showed up as the event draws near. The plan to get them out of the house was to have Anne’s brother take their parents with, when he took the dog for a swim at a local lake. The guests started arriving thirty minutes after the parents are out on their diversion trip. The scene was set with 35 people and as the car pulled back from the outing with the dog the surprise was no more. Anne’s parents were overcome with joy and emotions as they relived the last 39 years over a pig roast, and the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. The game ended and people said their goodbyes and trickled away to hotels, home, or onto their next destination.
In a rare moment for the number of people we had in and out of the house that day, I found myself sitting next to Anne’s dad with no one around but us. I asked him if he enjoyed the day. He ponders for a second and said, “John, to have people who care and love you enough to do this for you, that’s all you need.”
Think about that statement for a second, “that’s all you need.”
We spend so much time wondering what will make use happier, hoping for the latest gadgets, a better paying job, validation from a great accomplishment, socializing with a different tax bracket, or finally getting to hang with that crowd that has always turned a cold shoulder.
We don’t end up in these situations unless we make choices and time for people who invest in our lives, invest in what we like to do, in our interests, in our futures, in time together to build a loving lasting relationship. It’s that constant of turning to loved ones that allow for moments like these to blossom into nights we don’t forget. I felt this sitting next to Anne’s dad. As he said those words, he was letting me know he realized he was loved, cared for, and couldn’t be happier with the twists and turns his life has taken
At the end of the night, after months of planning, which resulted in an amazing day, I was left with the very powerful statement, “To have people who care and love you enough to do this for you, that’s all you need.” That’s all anybody needs.
Thought I would share the invitation to the party with everyone. It was designed by Anne and her brother. They did an amazing job.