Ellie's Birthday Surprise

I have been neglectful of The Buddha Diaries for these past few days. They have been busy ones, and I have a backlog of events I've promised myself to write about. It will likely take more than a couple of entries to catch up. First, though, comes Ellie's birthday.

I did post her birthday stone yesterday, but did not take the time to give it context. The day, actually, was Saturday. I had been plotting all week with Emily to arrange for a surprise party, to give her the chance to introduce little Luka to some of her closest friends. Then, when the day arrived, I was up early to write some carefully chosen words as a birthday greeting and have them ready for a reading at the cake-cutting ceremony that afternoon. So when I brought her the usual morning cup of tea, I was card- and poem-less--much to her disappointment, which she was not hesitant to express. It was a good day, I thought to myself unkindly, to learn a little more about the benefits of patience...

The morning passed otherwise uneventfully. We had arranged for a birthday brunch with Sarah, Ed and Luka at a local vegan restaurant down on Sunset that Sarah likes...

Ellie (happy birthday girl, above!) was looking forward to the excellent buckwheat pancakes she had been promised—but alas, we arrived five minutes too late: they stopped serving brunch at 1PM, so she had to settle for a salad, I for a bowl of soup, which we much enjoyed. Little Luka, who has reportedly been a cranky cuss for the past few days, behaved like a little angel from start to finish, nursing a little and dropping off to sleep in Sarah’s arms.

Emily, in the meantime, was executing our surprise birthday party plan; she had picked up the food and beverage necessities the day before, and stopped by on her way to the house to pick up the cake that I had ordered. She was to bring in flowers and set up the table, and guests were invited to arrive at 2:15 prompt so as to be ready for our 2:30 return to the house. The ostensible plan I had made with Ellie was to drive up to Pasadena to pick up the book I had ordered for her at the Norton Simon Museum book store—a book about Indian tantric art that had proved incredibly hard to find. She had been talking for days about the Pasadena expedition, and was excited not only about the book but also the plan to stop by a department store to find the slow cooking pot she has been intending to buy. So, the pretext was that we would drive home after brunch to pick up our car (Sarah and Ed drove us to the restaurant) and head out up the Pasadena freeway. Instead…

… we opened the front door to the house to see the candles already burning on the cake...

Or rather, I saw them. Ellie was headed off first, hurriedly, to the bathroom, and I had to propel her forward instead, to her surprise, into the dining room. Then she saw the cake and candles, the flowers, the nicely arranged table, not quite understanding what was going on… until our friends emerged from where they had all been hiding in the kitchen, singing that familiar old son!

Well, to my great satisfaction, the surprise was complete...

and thankfully a pleasant one...

No heart attacks. The candle blowing-out ceremony went off without a hitch, and I read my “Ellie’s Birthday Stone”—the one she had fussed about missing earlier in the day.

Ellie cut the cake...

... I poured the Proseco and the mineral water for the non-imbibers, and we began to celebrate with a toast for Ellie, little Luka and, not least, Emily, without whose furtive help none of this would have been possible. It was a lovely afternoon, sunny, but not too hot, and the party drifted out on to the deck with its wonderful view of Hollywood. Luka was quite naturally the center of attention, for the most part bright-eyed and watchful...

... unalarmed by all the action. Widely admired—and for good reason—he was passed around peaceably from arm to arm, and seemed entirely content to be held and rocked by strangers.

Here he is with Emily...

And here's a nice picture of his Mom...

A great party, then. At the end, as everyone was finally leaving, a late arrival, Ellie’s friend Tressa, proved one more surprise. By the time she left, it was almost time to leave for the restaurant where I had made dinner reservations. But that’s another story… As is the report on the opening we attended later in the evening. In between times, though, I did manage to get Ellie to take a few minutes to rest...

George, as you can see, was happy to join her.