Surprise!

So, as many of you well know, today is my birthday. On this day, 21 years ago, I was born. 

As most every oxygen-breathing American knows, birthdays are a time for cake and gift-giving. So everything was going according to tradition when Daniel went online to buy me a present for my impending birthday.

Now, not gonna lie. I love surprises as much as the next person. Daniel has to work pretty hard to surprise me though, because I'm kind of a supersleuth. For instance, as he was shopping online that day, he called from the other room, "Would a junior's medium be too small for you?" And then proceeded to hum the theme from the all-too-short-lived sci-fi series "Firefly."

"Are you buying me a Firefly themed T-shirt?" I asked.

"Whh... No! Shut up!" he replied.

Eventually he settled on the perfect super-secret gift for my birthday, and I resolved to try really hard not to spoil the surprise for myself.

Fast forward a few days...

I check my email several times a day because I sometimes get important work things there. And because it makes me feel important whenever I get an email. But that day, I pulled it up, and right there in front of me...

"Your Amazon Order of A Song of Ice and Fire (4 Book Boxed Set) and 1 More Item Has Shipped!"

...and all at once I find myself faced with a dilemma. 

Daniel had used my Amazon account to order my birthday present, but at no point in time had it crossed either of our minds that the confirmation emails would be sent to my email account, for some reason. I suppose neither of us is good at planning ahead.

So now, I feel bad for spoiling the surprise when in reality there was nothing I could do about it.

Do I tell him and make him feel bad for not surprising me, or do I keep it to myself and just act surprised? 

But then a thought came to my head...

It's called "Jackie's Birthday Curse."

I have developed a terrible habit over the last few years since I got a real-person job and became an independent woman. Let's flash back a couple of years to see what I mean...

And then the next year...

And now, here we are at the present year, when all I wanted was the books that Game of Thrones is based off. They seem really exciting, and I want to start reading more so I won't seem like such a moron!

Truth be told, had I not seen that email, I most likely would have bought the books on Kindle myself.

So now, flash forward to that day, the fateful email staring me in the face.

I came to the conclusion that I was going to keep it to myself and not tell Daniel, because he worked so hard to keep it a secret (although, apparently, not hard enough). 

And now, it's the present, and it's my birthday, and Daniel has given me my gift. And I honestly truly was excited! I'll probably start reading as soon as this is posted. But I came to the conclusion that I couldn't keep it secret from him forever, so I had to tell him one way or another.

So now, here's the surprise. As I type, he is still completely unaware of the situation. In a few mere moments, I shall post it, and he shall know the truth.

Wish me luck...