For Debbie's birthday, I had planned a surprise party for her at Ruby Tuesdays. I had spent several days talking to friends, and calling people she hadn't seen in a while, and trying not to get caught. Finally, everything looked like it might work. When her birthday finally came, it was a gloomy overcast day, and by the time I got home from work, the weather looked pretty rough. Plus, Debbie wasn't feeling too well, and the birthday thing was looking bad. Well, I managed to suggest that we go out to eat, and after a little convincing, Debbie agreed. So Debbie gets dressed. In jeans and an old shirt, since it was so gloomy. I had to talk her into changing into something nice because "it's your birthday!" So she changed clothes. A very pretty dress that I had bought her for her birthday, and had given to her earlier. So finally we're all dressed, and looking good. We get in the car, and start for the restaurant, and no sooner than we get out of the driveway, it's starts to rain. Within a couple of miles, it's really raining. A couple more miles, and it's REALLY REALLY raining. Plus, now the wind is getting up. Well, another mile or two, and we're in the middle of a summer storm! Dark cloudy, pouring rain, heavy wind, woof! Debbie's going, "It looks like we're not supposed to enjoy this birthday. Maybe we should just go home." But I wasn't going to let a little thing like a storm ruin my plans. So I gave her the talk about how it was just the devil trying to get in our way, and that we would go eat anyway just to prove to him that he couldn't win. So we finally get to Ruby Tuesdays. By the time we got there, the rain had pretty much quit, and the wind had died down, so things were looking a little better. We walked in, and the hostess asked us about our table. I told her we were meeting a friend. Debbie's little eyes perked up and she said,"We are?" I told her yes and when we rounded the corner to the table area, everybody jumped up and started singing Happy Birthday. There is no way I can put into words what was going on with Debbie's face, and her expressions. She was totally amazed and about as surprised as I have ever seen a person. We had a wonderful dinner. Her friends had brought gifts, we had cake and ice cream, and just had a wonderful time. On the way home, Debbie told me that it was her first ever surprise birthday party. As a matter of fact, it was her first surprise party for any reason. I remember listening to her, and I remember how much it meant to her, and I know how good it felt in her heart to know that somebody else actually thought of her. Looking back, I remember telling myself, that this was only the first surprise I would have for her. Another glorious day!!