I Was An April Fool

Let me tell you a story of April Fools 2014 Wonder, and how I was the biggest (and luckiest) April Fool of them all...

On April first, I was waiting impatiently for a late birthday present to be delivered to me by UPS.

I watched disappointedly as a UPS truck pulled into my parking lot, stopped in front of my parking spot, and delivered a large box...

...to my neighbor.

When I told my mom about the shipping injustice I had just been victim of, she replied in three words...

"Those Rat Bags!"

I couldn't have agreed more.

Shortly after, there was a loud knock at my door.

I ran to open it, hoping that it would be my package. On the door step was a large suitcase and a small green travel bag that had I left at my parent's home last summer. On the door, there was a sticky note. It read:

"April Fools!"

Now, you should know that having babies makes your neurons fire improperly, and I thought nothing of the fact that UPS does not ship things in suitcases, nor do they leave cheeky notes written in my mother's handwriting on the door.

It wasn't until I had hauled the baggage into the house that I realized that something was up.

I poked my head out the door to make sure I hadn't missed something.

Nothing.

I looked out the window at the parking lot to see if I had missed someone...

No one.

I opened the door one more time, the dots FINALLY connecting in my tired little brain, and my hopes soaring sky high.

"Oliver, I think something amazing is happening!"

I said, as I swung the door open wide.

And there they were, Andre and my dad! I shrieked and hugged them! I was pretty sure that I was dreaming.

My mom, who had been parked across the street, so as not to ruin her big plans at the last minute by parking the rental car in front of my house, drove over and got out of the car.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

I was utterly flabbergasted.

I dragged them into the house and sat them down on my couch. I dropped Alice into my mother's arms, and insisted that they tell me all the details about the planning of this spectacular April Fools Escapade.

Then they opened their suitcase and presented me with a 100 year old blue canning jar that belonged to my great, great grandmother Miriam, a Babylit library, a stack of clothes for Alice, and some new toys for Oliver J.

They stayed for six glorious days. SIX!

We went shopping. They played with Oliver. We went to Centennial Park. We went to the Tidal Basin. They took Oliver on a special trip to ice cream and the Lego store. They snuggled Sweet Baby Alice often. We watched movies. We devoured the best pot of chili that I have ever prepared. We blessed Miss Alice. We played cards.

We really just went about life as usual, and it was truly, truly grand.