Did you feel the earth move last weekend? I’m pretty sure it rocked a little! I pulled off an honest to goodness surprise party for my mother’s 78^th birthday! Backstory? I love to throw a party and I’m known to pull a celebration together faster than quick, so giving the Queen of Us All a party was not the least unusual. The amazing part of the feat was the “surprise”. Are you familiar with the “loose lips sink ships” line? I’m afraid my people could take down an entire fleet before breakfast!

If I said “it’s a secret” once, I said it a dozen times. My favorite rejoinder came from Mama’s sister, Marleta. After a long phone conversation that covered the birthday invite,  Uncle Stan’s health issues, and a few other topics, I reminded Aunt Marleta once more. “Remember, Aunt Leta, Mama doesn’t know. It’s a secret!

Those who know Aunt Marleta from my humor books will not find it the least surprising that she said, “Okay! I’m tell her.”

Thankfully, she did not make good on that promise. Mama’s oldest sister lives in heaven these days, but the other three made it with their spouses. Between the three couples one spouse is recovering from open heart surgery, two are on oxygen, and one rests heavily on a cane. But, hey—they were all here, along with good representation from three generations below the Queen. As they say, a good time was had by all!

I love a birthday celebration, don’t you? It says, “You are loved, and we’re glad you made another trip around the sun with us!” Over the years, I’ve made it my goal to make as much about the birthdays of “big people” as we do the little ones. That means balloons, streamers, banners, the whole nine yards! I figure why tone it down when you can fire it up, right?

This morning I was thinking about what I’ve learned over the years about throwing successful parties and it occurred to me that my takeaways apply to life in general. So, here’s my short list of how to be a Party Animal instead of a Party Pooper!

It really is more fun to give than receive! Sure, it’s fun to have someone throw you a party. We all like to be appreciated, but the best surprise is discovering that celebrating other people brings us much more joy! I’ll treasure the look of surprise on my Mama’s face for a very long time!

Don’t overthink it. Being the host of the party is no fun if you’re stressing over the details. Ditto everyday life! Take your concerns to God in prayer and ask Him to help you leave them there. If and when they come back, (experience speaking), don’t feel guilty, just make the same good decision to trust Him, again.

Give up herding cats. I confess. I have a tendency to micro-manage things. All things. I mean, I just know what everyone needs to do, and when they need to do it, in order for us all to have more fun, right? Wrong. Trying to get Mama and her siblings to follow the party schedule is like herding cats, but it’s just as fruitless for me to try and make anyone conform to my way of thinking. I can love on people and I can share what I’ve learned to help them discover the blessing of following Christ, but I can’t make them follow suit. My job is to love them and trust them to their Maker.

I could go on, but this wordy girl will stop there and give you a turn. Do you have a party tip that applies to life in general? I’d love to hear (and learn) from you!