You know what I find really hard to do in today’s world? Keeping secrets and fabricating surprises. Secrets and surprises seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. In today’s world it’s just so darn easy to instantly tweet, post, email, or text that most of us broadcast our thoughts and updates as quickly as they cross our minds. Deliberation, in my opinion, used to be a much more personal and private process.
It’s human nature to want to rush off and tell our friends the moment something exciting happens but doesn’t the “tell” feel sweeter, deliver a bigger impact, when we’ve first processed the experience and run through the story in our minds?
My wife, Jessica, really put all this to the test over the last year. There’s something she’s been wanting very badly but if our kids ever caught wind of her wish, they’d have been all over us with an endless barrage of begging. So this deliberation, Jessica’s big surprise, had to remain on full lockdown. I’ll admit that what she wanted was not something I wanted but a husband’s vote never carries more than 49% so alas, Jessica’s wish came true. (And in retrospect, of course, Jessica was right and I’m glad she gets the majority vote!)
On a recent weekday morning our three girls boarded the school bus for another typical day. Jessica and I then got in our car for a secret rendezvous to a local farm, where we picked up a special package that our girls never saw coming. And the girls’ reactions that same day when they got home from school? Well, I gotta say that delivering this surprise old school – in person – was absolutely worth it.
Watch this video and I think you’ll agree