{"id":1014,"date":"2016-10-29T11:11:31","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T15:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2016-10-29T11:50:39","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T15:50:39","slug":"surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/?p=1014","title":{"rendered":"Surprise!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dsc_0421\"<\/a><\/p>\n

September 27, 2012<\/p>\n

Dear Maya,<\/p>\n

\"dsc_0358\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is likely fitting for me to start this journal with you as you just started your twelfth year.\u00a0 Actually, it started a few years back when you asked me for a surprise party. \u00a0I mentioned then, that it is something one cannot necessarily request, as the party would no longer be a surprise.\u00a0 But I tucked the request away and \u201cdusted it off\u201d for this year.\u00a0 I called the parents of seven girls and asked the parents to keep it a secret.\u00a0 The girls were to meet us at the Park and Ride.\u00a0 I would then meet them there with a bundle of balloons.\u00a0 You and dad would come at 11:00, where you\u2019d be surprised.\u00a0 From there, we would venture up to Zume Flume Water Park in the Catskills.<\/p>\n

\"dsc_0360\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All of the planning was going well until you proclaimed sometime in mid-August, \u201cI want to have a birthday party!\u201d\u00a0 Gulp, well, \u201csure, okay, what kind of party?\u201d\u00a0 You planned a sleep over, asking a few of your friends.\u00a0 Robby, (Becca\u2019s mom) thought it was a decoy and was confused.\u00a0 But, inhale, we (I) decided to move forward with a double party.\u00a0 The first half remained a surprise, this rolled into the sleepover.\u00a0 I called the parents of the first half of the party, and extended the party to the sleepover part too.\u00a0 It was a bit complicated, but it ultimately was a huge success.\u00a0 You were extremely<\/u> surprised.\u00a0 You were in disbelief; it was like an outer body, surreal experience.\u00a0 Driving into the Park and Ride, as you got closer and closer, your grin grew from ear to ear.\u00a0 You were beaming.\u00a0 During the entire ride from New Paltz to Zume Flume, your smile was plastered on.\u00a0 The Zume Flume day was fabulous.<\/p>\n

\"dsc_0384\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"dsc_0371\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You and your pack of friends went on every ride; some a couple of times.\u00a0 We came home, had make-your-own fresh pizza.\u00a0 Vegan birthday cake, campfire, presents and \u201csleep.\u201d\u00a0 I made the mistake of telling everyone, \u201cno talking after midnight.\u201d\u00a0 Everyone respected my \u201cno talking request.\u201d\u00a0 What I should have said was, \u201cno interacting,\u201d as I learned that you were all up until 2:30 a.m. texting!\u00a0 In the end Maya, you welcomed in AGE TWELVE with a great celebration!<\/p>\n

\"dsc_0424\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Other news includes your decision to become vegan.\u00a0 I think that this is something you\u2019ve considered in the past.\u00a0 I respect your choice and I am working with you to ensure that you are getting all of the nutrition you need!\u00a0 Protein, iron and fat are some of the major concerns.<\/p>\n

When Yom Kippur came, you decided to fast.\u00a0 When you put your mind to it, there is no stopping you.\u00a0 Again, I respect your choices.<\/p>\n

\"????????????????????????????????????\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some sadness is filling our life.\u00a0 Just today, you learned of the passing of three of Jeff\u2019s and your chickens.\u00a0 And Merlin [our cat] is terminally ill.\u00a0 It is a very tender time for us all.\u00a0 We are doing our best to help Merlin during this time.\u00a0 We are doing what we can to ensure his comfort.\u00a0 You are very sensitive and have been touched by the sadness of the loss and anticipated loss.<\/p>\n

\"dsc_0525\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And I move from the emptiness to more fulfilling areas.\u00a0 You are finding a wonderful form of expression through athletics.\u00a0 You are now on the modified soccer team and your started karate.\u00a0\u00a0 Both are feeding you; so much has been happening!<\/p>\n

\"scan0001\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All photos from September and\u00a0October of 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 27, 2012 Dear Maya, It is likely fitting for me to start this journal with you as you just started your twelfth year.\u00a0 Actually, it started a few years back when you asked me for a surprise party. \u00a0I mentioned then, that it is something one cannot necessarily request, as the party would no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-depth","category-spunk"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s720L0-surprise","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1014"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1037,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions\/1037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}