Peace, Love and a Cup o' Joe

When you are 22, young and married, you think the day is forever away. Well, last week, “forever” came up with the sun and Jeff turned forty. And guess what? The sun went down just like it came up and another day was done. The earth didn't quake. He could still read his Bible without holding it at arm's length. His chest didn't fall to his waistline. His hair, well, it stayed the same. Forty is forty, however it didn't feel any different than say, 39. The only difference for me was it was a GREAT excuse to throw a party so the "twoscore" milestone didn’t pass without abundant anticipation, scads of silliness, tables of food and a house full of friends! Actually, we partied like it was 1969. Well, not EXACTLY, but kind of.
Here’s the invitation.
Isn’t he a cute one? All this lingo came from Top Ten hits of the monumental year of his birth in case you are wondering about the strange wording. So after getting over the anxiety about asking people to do something a little crazy, I just went with it. To keep some element of surprise, Jeff knew there would be a party (he made the guest list) but that was all he knew………..until about half an hour before when I had to get dressed in one of my Mom's dresses from 1969!

With gold glittered peace signs hung, sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival playing, and old pictures of Jeff splattered about the house, the first guests rang the doorbell and it took a double take to recognize them. I knew then it was going to be a lot of fun. Every time we opened the door, there was a new take on the infamous year of Woodstock standing there. We had cute housewives, flower children, rock stars, and full out hippies. Some lived out memories of college, Viet Nam and days of hair gone bad. Some of our most fashionable friends, looked right at home in their signature choice of clothes for the party. So here they are!

The one on the right won the "Jeff-ology" quiz though her victory didn't go uncontested. Since she saw my invisible white flag waving earlier in the day and kidnapped my kids, I didn't investigate the allegations. The one on the left would have won "best hair" had it been a category!

The votes were cast and he won the "I Can't Get Next to You" prize for best dressed! He told me I wouldn't recognize him in his groovy get-up and I didn't!

Because Jeff loves coffee, we had a barista making everyone's favorite coffee drink. It was a Jeff version of a Woodstock fix and he had three. However, that is NOT the barista, even though she remembers coffee orders well.

I actually let my kids spend the night with this pair the next night!! No wonder my kids are always wanting to go over there! (Thanks, you two! What a gift.)

A weekend with this foursome might have proved very interesting in 1969!

I want to say these girls, my friends, were worth their weight in gold, but since they are little wisps, it wouldn't be enough! They are the reason I was able to "go" to the party. (You two are amazing!!)

My favorite time of the night was when Jeff's friends prayed for him. Nathan, on the left, is our pastor from ACF and long time seminary friend and Sultan, the one on the right, is one of his staff members of Tarrant NET who is also a pastor and dear friend. I have to admit, it was hard to keep a straight face (if you peeked) seeing Pastor Cole praying so seriously with his "Hendrix head". One friend texted me the next day and said, "When I turn forty, I want two things: to take a trip and to have Sultan Cole pray for me!" Amen.

Thank you, sweet friends, for coming and showing up with your party clothes on! You made it more fun than I had imagined! Jeff never once had a "Suspicious Mind" and he felt a "Whole Lotta Love" from all of you. Your cards were the highlight of his weekend. I was thrilled to get to do this for Jeff. From the first idea to the last dish put away, it was fun, fun, fun.
Now for 50.............ouch.