Every Day is a Holiday

Kelsey is going to post a year-in-review sometime shortly after the New Year. At least, now she is, since I wrote that she was going to. I subscribe to the "if you build it they will come" mentality.

For the past month and a half we have been in full-on holiday mode. Thanksgiving potlucks, Christmas potlucks, work parties, friend parties, anniversary celebrations, Star Wars viewings, family gatherings in Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina.... I know, poor us. 

1789 found a table for us right where we said our vows.

They are very nice to us.

Bet you can absolutely guess which one we wrapped.

Kelsey let me try it once. I just put a whole gift in a Trader Joe's bag and stapled it shut. Apparently that is not the appropriate method. 

Kelsey's Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary Present Story

I have been waiting to tell this story because of the extent to which I wrested a great surprise from the ashes of abject defeat. I got Kelsey a number of small gifts for her birthday/Christmas/anniversary this year. I was told that I was not allowed to get her just one gift for all three, so I diversified and I think I did pretty well. For her real gift, though, I wanted to get her tickets to see Adele. Kelsey loves Adele, Adele just put out a new album, and Adele rarely goes on tour. I thought it was very fortunate, then, that Adele announced a tour that was coming to DC next October. Tickets went on sale on the 17th, and so I put a reminder in my calendar to get the tickets. 

A few days before the 17th, I realized that I would probably not get Adele tickets just by trying to call the ticket line on the 17th. I was not a math major, but I had a feeling that the tickets were going to sell out instantly. Also, I would be at work, so I shouldn't be on the phone trying to buy tickets anyway. My solution was to use the Amex concierge service for the first time ever. I called them up, asked them to buy tickets for me, and they took my seating preferences. They made it so easy to spend money, which is exactly why the concierge service exists. This was going to be a huge Christmasbirthversary surprise and Kelsey would have no idea that it was coming! She didn't even know that Adele was going on tour, as far as I knew.

So far so good, right? On the night of the 16th, I was telling Kelsey that I potentially had a great present for her. She told me that she thought she might already know, and I scoffed at the idea. Maybe she knew what was in the stapled Trader Joe's bag (it was a puzzle), but that was it.

"You know what is in the Trader Joe's bag, don't you?" I said.

"No.... but.... check your calendar." It took me about five seconds to realize that when I had posted a reminder to myself to purchase Adele tickets, that reminder had also gone to Kelsey because we are married and share electronic calendars or some stupid thing like that. I immediately crumbled in shame and despair that I had made such a rookie mistake.

That's the last time I plan anything.

So I told her about the concierge service and how they were going to try and get tickets for us, and she was very happy about the possibility of seeing Adele and tried to pretend like it was no big deal that she found out early. 

On the 17th, I saw online that everyone was freaking out about how quickly the Adele concerts had sold out, but later that day Amex let me know that they had successfully gotten me two tickets to the concert in my first-choice seating area. Hooray for the concierge service, but I was still bummed that it wouldn't be a surprise.

But then....

I did exactly this.

And I called the concierge service back one more time, thanking them for securing the tickets and asking if they could do me a favor that was sort of off-the-books.

Which I then sent to Kelsey, who was sad but understanding.

And then I said nothing about Adele at all until yesterday, when I told Kelsey that I had a belated Christmas/early birthday present for her and showed her our seats. Kelsey then buried her head under a pillow and cried for five minutes because this is the same woman who cried when I gave her a DVD of Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause" a few years ago. At the end of it all, I am no longer the worst at surprises.

So now we are looking forward to DC settling down for its long winter's nap. The weather has not been cooperating so far, but I have no doubt that we will have a January or February snowpocalypse of at least a half inch of snow. More than enough to shut down DC, at least. We wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!