Christmas in August

“Have a good shower. Use soap.” So said Tom Hanks in the comedy classic Bachelor Party. He was referring to a bridal shower but I am here to discuss a baby shower. My co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower with surprise being optimal word.

I walked into the conference room and the look on my face portrayed a combination of shock and uneasiness. Probably what Mel Gibson looked like right after he got pulled over. But unfortunately for me, I was not loaded.

The meeting request on my calendar said DM luncheon. I was told it stood for divisional managers or something along those lines, never connecting the dots that my initials are, obviously, DM. I even stumbled across my friend, who also happens to be the co-worker that planned this whole shindig, in the grocery store a couple of days before the shower. I noticed she had like 7 bottles of soda in her carriage but Sherlock Holmes here could only deduce, in a comment later made to Tracy, that “Terry sure drinks a lot of soda.”

Sure enough, there is a table positioned in the front of the room. Cameras are flashing like the paparazzi at a movie premiere. (It may have only been one camera but it felt like dozens.) The entire room gawks awkwardly at me like they are expecting me to say something clever. “Let’s eat!” is about all I am able to muster.

After a delicious lunch, it was time to focus on the mountainous stack of presents resting patiently to my left. One by one, I opened each gift and thanked the appropriate person. There were lots of great presents in the pile but not a single video game or power tool in the bunch. In fact, come to think of it, nearly every present I opened was for the baby. Still, it was quite a gesture from these people and I was very touched.

Now that his/her room is nearly ready and we have another whole room stacked with infant gifts, our house is starting to really look like we have a baby on the way. 54 more days! Enough said.