Today is Mark’s 61st birthday.  Want to know how to plan a perfect birthday?  You have to know the birthday recipient very well – all his wishes, his likes – and then you have to think of a way give him everything he could wish for.  That’s why at the breakfast table Mark found a card that said, “Aargh, Matey!  Happy birthday!” along with a treasure map.

The map was a series of Google Map directions to various addresses along with times to be at them, and the card gave detailed instructions on how he should dress and what he should bring with him.  The map didn’t say what treasure he’d find at each of the addresses.  He admitted to being intrigued!

We took the motorcycle because I know that’s his favorite mode of transportation.  He had memorized the directions and address to the first treasure site.  Mind you, I had made these plans online so I wasn’t exactly sure what we’d find either.  We arrived at the first address and it was a medical campus.  There was a sign board out front with the lists of the different offices and he asked me, “Where are we going?”  I looked over the sign and said, “Building 1100.”  When we parked in front of Skin Bliss and I handed him a certificate for a whirlpool bath and a massage.  You should have seen his face light up!

We took the treasure map in with us so he could look at the directions for the next treasure while we were sitting in the waiting room.  The staff saw it and asked what it was and I told them what we were doing.  They all cooed and said I had inspired them for something to do with their husbands!

I had thought I’d sit out in the waiting room and read magazines while Mark was in getting his treatment, but one of the therapists asked if I’d like to go in and watch.  I said, “Yes, please!”  When I went in I saw a room with a massage table and behind that a whirlpool bath that was bubbling almost like a bubble bath.  Mark climbed in and he was so tall he had to bend his knees, but he sunk down into the water till it was up to his bottom lip and let the jets work on his neck as well as the rest of his body.  I sat beside the tub and held his hand as he relaxed.  Twenty minutes later he stepped out all pink and warm, dried himself off, and slipped in between the sheets on the massage bed.

The therapist was very open and receptive to having me watch.  I stood next to the table so I could learn from what she was doing, and then I asked if I could mirror her on one side while she worked on the other.  She gave me some tips on what kinds of oils to use and how to feel where he was tight, what strokes to use and how to use everything from my fingers to my elbows.  Mark let me know when I wasn’t going as deeply as the therapist so that I could learn what felt good to him.  The therapist said she really enjoyed working with me and the staff all wished Mark a happy birthday when we left.

We had a couple hours till the next treasure so we stopped for a quick lunch and then a ride on the Harley.  I was thinking Mark would want to cut loose on the open highway, but instead he stopped in at Lackland Airforce Base where he spent some time when he was in the military.  He wanted to show me some replicas of planes from WWII and a stealth plane.  There were many other planes there to look at, but Mark said it was time to go.

The next treasure was at an address near the area where we’ve done most of our shopping.  I couldn’t see what I was expecting to find and we weren’t seeing the right address, but then we rode into a shopping mall area and there, off the main road, was a theater.  Mark drove by slowly but still didn’t see an address, so I lifted the shield on my helmet and said, “This is the place.”

He was curious as he got off the motorcycle because there were all kinds of movie posters out front, but as we walked toward the ticket booth he finally noticed one for American Sniper, a movie he’s been wanting to see.  He looked at me again with surprise and delight in his eyes!  Of course, the movie was very intense and ended somberly, so as we were walking out I said, “First I get you all relaxed and then I take you to an intense movie!”

He looked at his watch and said, “It’s 6:30!”

I said, “Oh,no!  I seriously underestimated how long the movie would last.”

“When is the next treasure supposed to happen?” he asked, and I said, “6:30!”

We beat feet over to the River Walk, but the place I was looking for wasn’t where I thought I remembered it being.  I panicked.  I found a woman at an information desk and I whispered to her, “Where is Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse?”

She blurted the name out and then Mark knew where the next treasure was, but we still didn’t know exactly where to go for it.  She gave us directions and a map, but we were a little unsure because it seemed a long walk away.  We stopped a man on the sidewalk who had a shirt that said Information and he told us we were close and that we needed to go down to the River Walk.  By the time we got to the restaurant we were an hour late, but they still had a table for us.  They strewed it with Happy Birthday confetti.

We sat down to the table and I was hyperventilating.  I had been so stressed and we’d walked so fast that when we sat down I felt like I was going to pass out.  Mark was worried about me and had me come to his side of the table so he could help me calm down my breathing.  The feeling finally passed and I felt much better once I started eating.  Once we’d eaten a scrumptious dinner and the plates were all cleared away, I had one last surprise for him…a love letter which I’d written on the computer and printed on the last sheet of stationary we had from our wedding invitations seven years ago.

After dinner we walked along the River Walk until we came to a place where a man was playing pan flutes.  We stopped and slow danced right there on the sidewalk.  The true treasure in this whole day is the love we have for one another.

Happy birthday, Sweetheart!