Earlier this month my dad hit a major milestone: he retired! He was with the Police Department for 32 years. THIRTY TWO YEARS. That's a long time people.
Last month I got a call from his wife saying that she wanted to throw him a surprise party and wanted my sister and I there. She suggested that we fly in and not tell him just to surprise him that night. With Kelly in Boston this summer and me here in Utah, we were both thrilled to fly in and surprise him.
He knew something was up when he saw the sign but he still didn't know we were there! Kelly and I hung in the back of the hall for a little bit while everyone surprised him and then we snuck up to the front. It took a few minutes to be noticed because of all the people but when we finally did get his attention, the look on his face was priceless. He asked us 'how did you get here?!' (uh, a plane dad...) and had no idea that we were even close to being in town. The surprise was a success.
Some of my dad's best friends were there, including his work partner of 14 years, the former Chief of Police that had hired him way back when, the Mayor, and a lot of family that I hadn't seen in a really long time. It was fantastic.
Donuts hanging from the door. I saw them and died laughing. There were also mini donuts on each table.
So congratulations dad! We're all so proud of you and hope you enjoy cruising in your classic car instead of the patrol car from now on. Just please, if someone sees my father in suspenders, socks and sandals, tell him to knock it off. Just because you're retired doesn't mean you can forget all of the fashion rules Kelly and I have worked so hard to teach you! ;)
