It began as a follow-up doctor’s appointment with Chandler’s pediatrician. Why Annie and I had to go too, Marti couldn’t say except for something like moral support (and of course Annie’s medical expertise). When we turned out to actually be early because Marti had told us an hour earlier than the actual appointment knowing how hard it was going to be to get us there on time, this also wasn’t unusual. We do this often when we really have to be on time for something. (All the clocks in the house are at least ten minutes fast for the same reason. We call it “Marti time.” I don’t think it works especially when we keep telling ourselves we have ten more minutes.)

So I wasn’t even suspicious when, due to our extra time, she took me into a men’s store to try on a sport coat she had her eye on. That’s when I remembered my birthday was coming up in a couple days, but nothing more. When I didn’t particularly warm up to the coat, the salesman convinced me to see what the color looked like outside in the sun, so I went out front like a good sport, and as soon as I got outside, I saw Elizabeth and Christopher Fischer waiting for us in the patio restaurant next door with what turned out to be a birthday cupcake, a new Angels T-shirt and tickets for six to the ball game. It was an awesome surprise and completely unexpected.

Unfortunately the game left a lot to be desired unless you were an Oakland A’s fan, as has the opening weeks of the season for the Angels. Never has a year started with more unfulfilled promise. The Angels were supposed to be smoking by now and they are in the cellar of their division. Their performance at my surprise game was especially dismal, leaving us little to cheer about in a 5-0 shutout. I yelled, “Hit one for my birthday!” a few times but it didn’t help.

Still, neither the score nor the loss could dampen my joy at seeing my family together at a ball game – Marti especially. She hates baseball – something akin to watching paint dry – but she endured it anyway. With so much going on in all of our lives right now, you could say the last place we needed to be right then was at a ball game, but then again, it was the first place we all needed to be, because it reminded us of what was really important – being together and celebrating the moment. And something about the surprise and the memory makes me smile right now, even though my birthday isn’t until tomorrow. I’ve already had all I could ever anticipate.

The fact that everyone arranged their busy work schedules, planned and provided for this, kept it a secret from me, and then sprang it so we could all be together, is all the joy I need.

Certain birthdays are milestones and carry with them huge expectations. Mine has already fulfilled every one. It’s not so much what happens on the journey of our lives as much as it is the ones we are with. Celebrate those close to you today. You need no excuse.