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My birthday was Sunday and it was LOVELY! Raph surprised me with a SURFBOARD for my birthday which was a shock and SO exciting. He actually gave it to me on Sat. night, and on Sunday we were awakened by the beeping phone telling us we had a text message, which turned out to be from our dear friends, John and Gwen, telling us, "Surfs up!" And by 8:30 I was in the water off of Long Sands surfing. It was great! I have a new wet suit, and even though I am quite self-conscious about it, I decided not to let that stand in the way of my time in the water. It took me a long time to figure out where exactly I wanted to be on my board and I was exhausted about four seconds after I went in, but I had SO much fun and can't wait to surf more. The day was pretty much like a blast from the Hawaiian past, since that is where John and Gwen live, and some other friends we know from Hawaii (who now live in CT) also showed up. It ended up being a great beach bash with a bunch of friends, followed by a motorcycle ride with my sweetheart (babysitting services provided by Ann and Larry - thanks!), followed by an outstanding dinner shared with friends and family. It was such a perfect day! I am so lucky.