Be Nice!

So, we're supposed to be doing this daily blog challenge and following the prompts, and some days, we actually manage it.  Cat is better than I, but today's prompt caught my heartstrings, and since I don't have to be on a job site today (Not that I don't have to work. I just don't have to be on time arriving anyplace, which is my equivalent of a day off), I figured I would write it.

The prompt was "Who have you niced this year?"  Now, this is maybe not a common phrase for you, so here's a link that explains it:  http://blog.smallboxweb.com/2012/11/08/nicing-a-story-of-language-building/

As for nicing, I don't have one with pics from this year, but a few of us got Cat good for a birthday a year or two back.  We were planning a girls gathering to celebrate the success of an event a group of us had put together, and at the same time, we heard that Cat's big 50th birthday plans had fallen through or shifted, or some such thing.  We decided to turn our gathering into a surprise party for her.

We talked about what to gift her, and as she had recently announced an intention to start wearing more hats, we came up with the idea to scour thrift shops for some good ones.  Sue Krebs, Joy Coach extraordinaire at http://suekrebs.wordpress.com, found us a stack, and I had the fun of wrapping each one in a different box, with different paper and trims.  This is one of my weird little fetishes, gift wrapping presents to coordinate with the gift inside, and the others were more than happy to leave it to me.

The Queen of Nice, Cat Isles. 

Now, on the day of the party, as is embarrassingly typical, I arrived a little late (we can discuss my sense of time in some other post), so someone distracted Cat, while I snuck the gifts into the master bedroom, near the front door.  Of course, before we could spring the surprise, somebody mentioned something about the design of the master bath, and Cat insisted on seeing it.  Meaningful looks of panic shot around the room, and while one woman delayed her, the rest of us raced for the bedroom and did a bucket-brigade box toss, to hide the packages behind the door.  As long as one of us casually stood in front of it, she wouldn't see.  Just like the movies, it worked!  Wait, let me add a few more exclamation points to that...!!!  That she didn't notice anything weird about our actions and demeanor still amazes me, 'cause in the movies it always comes off as contrived and improbable, but she swears she didn't have a clue what was coming.

While she admired the bathroom, I slipped back to the kitchen and lit the candles on the cake, and Lisa Fahey got in position with the camera. This photo was her first reaction:

This look made every minute of preparation so worth it!

Her second happy reaction came when she discovered that we had remembered that she is diabetic, and I had made the "cake" from meatloaf frosted with mashed potatoes, so she could actually eat it after blowing out the candles.   Being nice is really just a matter of taking a moment to think about what would be meaningful to another, and when you have a whole committee planning it, it's easy to get down to the details.

Then it was time for the presents.  When she saw the mountain of boxes, Cat was astonished, and then as she realized every box contained a hat, she was delighted.  She had such a fun time, our Queen of Nice, but I think we had more fun repaying her for all the birthdays she never forgets, and all the cards and notes we each frequently find in our mailboxes.

Everyone deserves a movie moment of "being niced".  I hope you get yours!  Better yet, I hope you experience the pure joy of creating one for someone else!

Cat writes the "Be Nice" column in our bookazine, and speaking of that, the winter issue is expected to arrive from the printer today.  Finally.  A little later than planned.  Delay mostly my bad.  I really am working on my sense of timing, I promise.  Subscribe at 365being.com, and see what you've been waiting for.