It was New Year's Eve in Tucson

and I was at Lisa and David's house in the afternoon, baking apples with Lisa for a New Year's Eve get-together they were going to later that evening, and chasing their big ol' friendly, slobbering dog, Stanley, around the living room with Amelia, their 22-month-old loo hoo of a daughter. Around 4:00 my mom called, thinking I had forgotten that I was going to come with her to the airport to pick up her friend, Rosie. Now, the airport is pretty close to her apartment and very direct, but my mom insisted that she always got lost and that she would do much better with me in the car to navigate exactly which two turns to take. So I hustled on back to the apartment and off we went to the airport! Rosie is my mom's friend who recently moved to Florida. I had met her this past summer before she moved because we all went dancing togther. She was apparently coming back to Tucson to visit her father and my mom and hang out for New Year's or something.

Anyways, we're at the airport hanging out in the baggage claim and I'm sorta trying to keep an eye out for her but I can't quite remember what she looks like. Plus I was soon distracted by a sweet New Year's text message from Eric, wishing me a good New Year's Eve. So I was all flushed and 'oh, isn't that sweet' and then lo and behold my phone rings and it is his voice on the phone! The conversation went something like,

Me: *gasp* "halloooo!"
Eric: "Why, hello! Happy New Year's Eve!"
Me: "Thank you, happy New Year's Eve to you too!"
Eric: "What are you doing?"
Me: "I'm actually at the airport with my mom. We're picking up her friend, Rosie."
Eric: "Really? Where in the airport are you?"
Me: "In the baggage claim."
Eric: "What carousel?"
Me: "Carousel five."
****phone gets disconnected*****
Me: *trying to figure out why we got disconnected and calling him back*

THEN

Eric: *turning around the corner of carousel five, walking right toward me.*
Me: *total shock*

What a surprise!
It wasn't Rosie at all! It was Eric! He was really really there in Tucson! I was in such shock that I couldn't even squeal! Eeeep!

Then I looked at my mom and she was in on it the whole, entire time. Oh the things my mother is capable of! Of course, now I can never trust her again! And, *ahem* that goes for the ones of you here on campus who knew about it as well! *cough* Tina *cough, cough* Justin *cough* Bea *cough*. Not to name names or anything. But I can't believe you guys! Most of all, I can't believe my mom had kept that secret for so long. I mean, they had been planning that since the beginning of December. Isn't that crazy! Goodness gracious!

Oh, but it was such a wonderful surprise. I was still in shock for a good 48 hours, but we enjoyed our time oh so much. New Year's Eve was pretty relaxing-- we went out for dinner at a cute little New Orleans-style cafe and then watched a movie at home. Then the next morning we went for a wonderful hike up at Mount Lemon with Lisa and David and Amelia and Stanley. There was snow up there! It was like a winter wonderland. =) We had dinner with them that evening, which was *so* wonderful. In the next couple of days we went to Tombstone and we went dancing at the Maverick and we made a pumpkin pie and went shopping and saw a movie with my brother and went all the way down the end of Broadway to see the desert and it was just so much fun! *yay*

What a wonderful, happy surprise. *contented smile*

***

On a completely different note, right now I am in Chicago, the last day I will be visiting with the Inner-City Teaching Corps here. (See www.ictc-chicago.org) This was an incredible weekend. I can't write about it now because we are about to go to Starbucks to do some work, and there is just so much to say. God is so faithful.