Best Surprise Ever (Ok It's All Relative)

Mark is on call tonight, and he had an office meeting after work.  So, I didn't expect him to call me at work to tell me he was going to pick up Jane from school.  He said he only had a minute to spare, but he wanted to see her tonight before the meeting. It was a relief, actually, because I had a project to wrap up, and it gave me an extra minute or two to complete it.  

On my way home, Mark called, and told me he had a surprise for me when I got home.  Cue the spinning wheels...  I tried to imagine what this surprise could be.  I mean, maybe he wasn't just stopping home to see Jane.  Maybe he had something elaborate cooked up...  Could it be that the outdoor furniture we ordered finally arrived?  Or, could it be that he had met with our interior decorators and had new light fixtures installed in the kitchen?  Or maybe, mother's day had come early, and he had ordered me THIS nude bag?

As I pulled up to the house, I had butterflies in my tummy.  A surprise just for me on a random Tuesday night...  how exciting.

And as I got out of the car and walked up to the porch, I saw Mark holding Jane.  She had the cutest little grin on as she squeaked out a "Hi-ee, hi-ee!!"

And there it was.  My surprise.  

Jane came home from school with pigtails in her hair.  

And it was the best surprise I've ever received.  It's funny how life changes.  (Read my letter of apology to all of the moms I judged.)  All of my visions of material things evaporated as I held my sweet girl in my arms.  There really is no gift that could compare to her.