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I’m dating myself here but remember when the fictional Marine Gomer Pyle used to utter his famous catchphrase?
If you’re over 40-something, you just said aloud “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Didn’tcha?
Surprise: underrated or to be coveted? Hmm. A little of both, perhaps though I try to receive it graciously, in general.
I mean, I’m the one who doesn’t want to look at the Christmas presents early or skip to the last page of the book to see how it ends. I don’t want you to tell me in advance if Glenn survives on “The Walking Dead” or not next season. Shoot, when they asked me if I wanted to know if Kyle was a boy or a girl when I was six months pregnant with him, I said, “No way! I want to be surprised!”
Indeed, I’ve always been one to try to welcome this element – even when deep down inside, I don’t really wanna.
Not all surprises are happy ones, natch.
Hmpf.
But for old PK, the last several days have been brimming over with lots of surprises. Tons, some might say.
In fact, I could hear Jim Neighbors’ voice in my head all week repeating his dumb old saying over and over again but I digress.
I’m still trying to come to grips with my girlhood crush, Bruce Jenner, now looks better in stilettos than I ever will. Yeah, I did NOT see that one coming.
Hmm.
Then again, it certainly came out of left field (to me) that my favorite country music duo had split.
Blake and Miranda? Really? I thought the couple that hunts wild game and eats it at their wedding feast together stays together?
Aw, man!
And speaking of weddings, it was a huge surprise to me how emotionally I’d react to the conclusion of festivities surrounding my niece Alexis’s recent nuptials.
Was I surprised that her stunning beauty literally took my breath away when I first caught glimpse of her? No.
Was I surprised when her mother, my sister-in-law Kim, came in as a close second in the gorgeousness department? Not a bit.
Was I surprised when our cousin Lynda, visiting from Utah and in for the express purpose of attending the wedding, was the perfect dancing partner and co-conspirator of fun during her stay? Nah, I always knew she was cool.
Heck, I wasn’t even surprised when Kyle caught the garter.
Ahem, I didn’t say I was thrilled, just not shocked.
What DID catch me off guard was my dismay (borderline depression) at the end of all the celebratory hoo-ha.
I mean, I know Allie and Kim live in Nebraska and Florida, respectively. And, geographically-impaired as I am, I get it that Lynda’s (now) home state of Utah is a few time zones away, as well.
So, why was I so sad when it hit me that I won’t be seeing these gals for a long time now that the wedding is over?
Sniff and hard gulp. Dumb surprise.
And, yes, I’ve always known that my editor, Mary Beth Wyko, is brilliant, wonderful and talented. So, am I at all astonished that she received a great new job offer recently? Hex no. But her departure from the Tribune Chronicle newsroom, where I’m certain she will be greatly missed, is a shocker. At least to me – and not in a “you just won the lottery” kinda way.
More sadness. Surprise, you stink.
Like the way you snuck up on me during my jog this week – when the forecast was only calling for a 20 percent chance of rain and, as soon as I got out to my halfway point, you made it so that a sudden thunderstorm dumped on my head.
I especially like the way you cleared the skies back to sunshine as soon as I finished.
Well played.
The thing that will never cease to surprise me, however, is that dopes like me complain about little things when the big picture is such a beautiful, blessed one.
Sheesh!
But the biggest surprise of all? How anyone anywhere could witness the magnificent dawn of a new day; the glorious union of two souls; or the greatest miracle of all, the birth of a baby and still not believe in the Almighty?
Sigh and duh.
I, for one, owe the Big Guy a whole lot of thanks for all the wonderful surprises with which He’s blessed me. At the end of it all, I hope there’s no surprise when I take a ride on that elevator in the sky as I cross my fingers and push the up button
Kimerer is a Tribune Chronicle columnist who wants to surprise her beautiful friend Lynnae Rasega with belated birthday wishes. Love you! For another pleasant surprise, visit Patty’s blog at www.patriciakimerer.com.