Surprise of the Day

I'm generally not a big fan of surprises. For myself, anyway. Oh, I like the occasional unexpected low-pressure surprise--a free coupon, a free book, or an invite to someplace cool/interesting. But those big, full-on, "it-took-weeks-of-planning-to-get-it-right" kind of surprises just make me very anxious and self-conscious.

I do, however, love surprising other people.

Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, babies...all perfectly acceptable reasons to celebrate. No, all occasions that should be celebrated. These occasions remind us all that we're alive, that we're loved, and that our happiness means something--not only to us, but to our friends and family, as well.

I love the planning that goes into a good surprise. Sure, it's stressful, but the look on the person's face when they arrive makes it totally worth it. I love being a part of something that's going to make someone else happy. And I, of course, love to share in that happiness. It's nice to be reminded of all of the fun and joy in the world still!

Life is definitely one big surprise after another. Every day brings its share of them. Some are good, some are bad, but we learn a lesson from every single one.

So think about it--how will you handle the next surprise that comes your way?

NOTE: I wrote today's post as part of the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Letter from Home by Kristina McMorris . This debut novel is the story of three young women during World War II and the identity misunderstandings they and the men in their lives have. Ask yourself: Can a soldier fall in love with a woman through letters? and What happens if the woman writing the letters is different from the woman he met the might before he shipped out, the woman he thought was writing the letters? Is it still love or just a lie? Like many authors, Kristina has had a wild selection of "real jobs" everything from wedding planner to actress to publicist. She finally added novelist to the list after Kristina got a peek at the letters her grandfather wrote to his sweetheart(a.k.a. Grandma Jean)while he was serving in the Navy during World War II. That got her wondering how much two people could truly know each other just from letter writing and became the nugget of her novel. In honor of her grandparents, and all the other families kept apart by military service, Kristina is donating a portion of her book's profits to United Through Reading, a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories to their children. You can learn more about the program at http://www.unitedthroughreading.org/