Shelley retires

On May 2, 2025, Shelley decided to retire. She stated she did not want a party because "nobody would come." She said dinner with me the night she retired was all she wanted.  She craved a Lobster Roll at Smack Shack.  Even with that directive, I created some surprises to celebrate the event.

First, I contacted Judith, her high school friend, with whom she has kept close contact her entire life.   I verified she could make the trip from Kansas City to surprise her on Shelley's retirement day and meet us at Smack Shack.

I also contacted Shelley's daughters, Allison and Leslie, about surprising her at the restaurant.  This would be difficult, as Allison has four young children and Leslie has three.  Fortunately, the stars aligned, and they got flights to arrive at 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 2.  

With that set, I planned a surprise gathering at the house on May 3, at Noon.  Judith is an Outstanding baker, and she offered to make the cake.  I was stressing over the food option when my friend Carolyn, who is the best at putting on social gatherings, offered to help.  She said, "Londell, I love doing this when spending other people's money".  So it was off to Costco and $300 later, we were set for her to prepare the food for Saturday. 

Leslie and Allison would take Shelley to get massages in the morning so I could set up for the party.  Shelley knew North Dakota State was playing St. Thomas in St. Paul at Noon, so keeping the party a secret was effortless!

I also learned she had a work party at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.  They did it two days early, as Wednesday is the only day most people are in the office.  So I contacted Lana and Dada, her two closest friends at work, and asked them to get farewell videos I would compile for her to see and as a keepsake.  This was very challenging as I needed to coordinate getting the videos and keep Shelley at bay with the flurry of text message exchanges while creating the video.

I completed the video and arrived at Shelley's office at 1:30 p.m. When she returned from the restroom, she was surprised to see Dad and me sitting there. She was even more surprised when I explained what we did and showed the video. The video can be viewed here. Surprise, one accomplished!

The next surprise came on Friday.  I had been running on fumes as my sleep was significantly disrupted with all the "white lies" I needed to tell Shelley to keep the surprises.  On Friday, I went to the first game of three between North Dakota State and St. Thomas in St. Paul at Noon. Shelley had to go to the office and return all the work items.  However, she found it hard to leave.  I thought she would leave by 10:00 a.m., but it was closer to 1:30 p.m. before she could force herself to go, one last time.  She decided a stroll through Fort Snelling State Park would be a great way to start her retreatment.

Goodbye, bagel at the office!

Post retired in the park.

 

Since she did a 90-minute stroll, I got the last-minute supplies and arrived home, which allowed me to hide the party items.   

Since I did not want to have her best friend and daughters meet at the same time at the restaurant and make it two separate surprises, I had Judith and her friend Tony arrive at our house at 4:30 p.m., and we would carpool to Smack Shack. When Judith arrived, I told Shelley it looked like another siding/roofing/window salesman was coming to the door, and I did not want to answer it. Shelley said to ignore it, but I said they saw me.  

Shelley was all revved up to tell them she was uninterested, and when she opened the door, she was speechless! Bingo, surprise, two went off without an issue!  Shelley was in tears of joy.  Did not expect that to happen.

Judith and Tony surprise Shelley

The next issue is why a table of six was reserved when we arrived at Smack Shack. Shelley's Uncle Bill (Neil) contacted me earlier in the day about Saturday's party. Shelley might have seen my phone, so I covered the extra two seats by asking Bill and his wife, Pat, to join us for dinner. While Shelley did not yell at me, she expressed disappointment as she wanted to spend time with Judy. It was a perfect cover-up for the table of six.  

We arrived and were taken to the table. Judith would take the seat I needed Shelley to be in to hide Allison and Leslie's arrival. They all looked at me funny when I dictated the seating arrangement, but they obliged. When they arrived, Shelley was so thrilled. The video LINKED HERE says it all!  Surprise three, accomplished!

Once Shelley regained composure, we enjoyed the company and dinner. After two hours, we would come home and have an outdoor fire, but the temperature was below 50 degrees.  So we stayed inside, queued up the second congrats video I made with friends and family.  The first video she saw on Wednesday was with co-workers only.  I did need to leave three people out of the video she saw on Friday, as they mentioned the party.  They were added to the final video, which can be seen at this link.  So far, three successful surprises and one to go.  

I arranged to take my sister to the airport on Saturday at 6:00 a.m.  This allowed me to get last-minute supplies for the party.  I arrived home at 8:30 and prepared breakfast for Shelley, Leslie, and Allison so they could prepare to leave.  I had a very TIGHT window to succeed.  I had to clean the house and prepare for the party in less than 120 minutes!  Fortunately, I had the help of Judith (who opted out of the massage) and Tony, or I would have FAILED.  Judith can make things look much more presentable than a North Dakota Farm boy (me).  

We were all set at Noon, and people were arriving, but not Shelley.  She was taking her time and was 20 minutes late for the surprise.  Unfortunately, it was not a four-for-four surprise success.  Just as she exited her car, her cousin pulled into his driveway.  They rarely see each other, so she knew something was going on.  Oh well, it was a pleasant gathering that she thoroughly enjoyed.  Shelley looked at me and asked if there were any more surprises.  I apologized for all the twisted facts to keep the surprises, yet this was the last one!

The spread!

Family members - rare to see all in the same room

The way we felt after it was over

Closed Saturday with a fire

 

So, it was a success. I was exhausted! Setting up three huge surprises and keeping them unknown was more work than I had imagined over five weeks. It is once she has finally joined me in the retirement world!

Until next time, carry on my friends!