Bali Trip 2020: Surprising My Mom
Happy Monday!
I hope you had a great weekend. Mine flew by way too quickly. Tj and I saw some friends for the first time in months which was a lot of fun. We also got the good news that some other friends of ours might be moving to Melbourne in a few weeks - I can't wait!
It’s crazy that just a few months ago we were in Bali with my family. I shared a little bit about that trip (see links below), but the best part was pulling off the surprise of a lifetime for my mom.
When we started planning this trip, I was so excited for my mom and Pete to come to visit us in Australia. We wanted them to come during Australian summer (so they could get away from the freezing Canadian winter) and we eventually decided to pop over to Bali for a quick little getaway, just like the Aussies do.
We had a few days in Melbourne and then we went to Bali. On our first night there, my brother and his girlfriend arrived late at night and surprised my mom. There were lots of tears and it was a very happy reunion. It was the first time we were all together in almost a year.
But behind the scenes, it was much funnier, and those are the bits that I will remember forever.
On the day we arrived in Bali, my mom and Pete were pretty tired and jetlagged. We went for dinner and when we got back to our villa everyone was just exhausted and a little cranky. And for some reason, my mom was paranoid about monkeys haha. Tj and I were so worried that they weren’t going to like Indonesia, but I knew we just had to hang in there because the surprise of a lifetime was coming in just a few hours!
We had concocted a story that Tj's boss was also in Bali and Tj and Pete were going to go meet him for drinks that night. Really, they were just going to meet Jacob at the airport.
Except it was very clear that they did not have the energy to go anywhere. I don't know how they rallied, but they did, and it was thanks to them that everything went smoothly. They got picked up by our driver and still had hours to kill before Jacob's flight landed. They went for a few drinks but weren't feeling it. Eventually they just went for feet massages and beers and had a great time hahaha. I was getting all these texts from Tj about how Pete fell asleep in the car on the way to town and then I got these hilarious photos of them getting a one-hour foot massage for like $5.00. I laugh so hard whenever I think of that night. Meanwhile, my mom and I were back at the villa dead asleep.
Jacob surprised my mom while she was sleeping. He went in and woke her up by bringing her a large coffee/hot chocolate from McDonald's. She was so confused and surprised and wouldn't stop crying! Success! She was also excited when she got up and she turned the corner and saw Jacob's lovely girlfriend Paloma was there too - we had all been dying to meet her.
My mom was soooo happy, and once things calmed down a bit, she just wanted to call everyone she knew to tell them Jacob was there. One of my other favourite memories from that night was telling her all the people who already knew. She couldn't believe it! So many people helped us keep this secret from her. My poor cousin Taylor called Jacob and me in tears one day because she thought her boyfriend gave it away. My aunt and cousins are so sneaky - they gave my mom presents to give to me that were actually for Jacob, and she still had no idea. Usually, I'm the weakest link so the fact that I was able to keep the secret for months was a pretty impressive feat.
When I was writing this I asked everyone to send me their photos from that night. I can see it so fresh in my mind, but unfortunately, there are no other pictures. Turns out we were all being present in the moment LOL.
This surprise took a lot of planning and coordination. It was a pain in the butt and a bit complicated but it was totally worth it, and seriously those are some memories I will cherish forever. The moment we surprised my mom was great, but it's the behind the scenes stuff that really puts a smile on my face.
I can't wait to travel internationally and see my family again someday LOL.
