Surprises

{I feel that I owe an apology to my (few, but nonetheless important) blog readers. I haven't blogged in over a month! I apologize, but I have very little excuses. Laziness is the main reason that I haven't blogged since Christmas, but I'm gonna try to blog on Monday and Friday each week. We'll see how that goes!}

This past Friday (January 28th) was my 19th birthday!!! As excited as I was to be turning 19, I was also saddened by the fact that it would be my first birthday celebrating away from my family. I was determined not to cry and to just buck up and have a great birthday regardless. My roommates and I had already decided to go eat lunch at the bagel shop across the street from school as a sort of "girls birthday lunch" kind of thing. When we walked in, the cashier told me to turn around. Who was sitting in Einstein's in Tigerville, SC, but my parents and my youngest sister, Emily! I had no earthly idea that such a thing would happen, and my roommate and suitemates had been in on the whole thing. I can honestly sat that I have never been so surprised in my entire life. They spent the afternoon with me, then drove back home that night. It was so much fun!

Once they were gone, the significance of what they'd done hit me in the face. My family had driven a grand total of 6 hours that day just to see me and wish me a happy birthday. That right there is love. They did not have to do that, there's not parental code saying that you have to visit your college student (who goes to school three hours away) on their birthday. The sacrifice that they made to come and see me touched my heart immensely and only increased my love for my family and my friends who kept the secret. They demonstrated their love for me by their actions rather than their words, and that has made all the difference.