Hey, ever thought about keeping a huge secret surprise for 5 months?
DON'T DO IT.
Keeping my Christmas visit home a secret since August has literally been crushing my soul. I am the worst at lying, especially to my poor sweet mother. Good thing I was lying through text messages. It's easy to hide my anxiety about lying from behind a phone, 3000 miles away.
Rewind: I told my family I wasn't going to come home for the holidays this year. I really wasn't going to. I just didn't feel like making the trip (I'm the Grinch). Then one random day I called my best friend, Emily and said, "Hey if I come home for Christmas to surprise my family will you be the chosen one who gets to know, aka pick me up from the airport?" She goes, "Yepp, I'll pay half for the plane ticket too. Merry Christmas."
My ticket was purchased within the hour. Thanks, Em. You really are the greatest. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your never ending support in everything I do.
For MONTHS people would ask me, one by one, if I was coming home. Lie after lie about how I don't care to be home, don't feel like it, like Hawaii, don't miss Arizona, flew through cyber space. Little by little my soul was being crushed. Secrets are hard.
FINALLY December 21st arrived, I got to the airport, and my surprise began to unfold.
These two beautiful ladies showed up at my gate. It was 10pm, it was cold, I was excited to get my bags and get outside. I walked RIGHT by these two who were dancing in the airport right in front of my face. Surprise for me... I got two huge slaps to the butt cheeks. It scared the ever loving shit out of me. Then we all hugged for like 20 minutes (10 seconds) and laughed and laughed at what an idiot I am for walking right past them. Fun times.
Girls night at Emily's house involved hot tubs, wine, pizza, cookies, more wine, more pizza, and so much gossiping, talking, bonding, cuddling, and laughing. I wanted to sit outside in the freezing cold, warming up by the fire, chatting with my two bests all night long.
The next morning we peeled our tired selves out from under the layers and layers of comfy blankets and got ready to head from Chandler to Glendale before the sun was even up to surprise my family. I could not contain my excitement. When we arrived at my moms house we discovered the doorbell is broken. I have a key to her house that I could have easily used, but let me show you the scary thing inside that prevented me from using it.
His name is Boston. He's a 100lb Rottweiler (who thinks he's a lap dog, as pictured here) and I was unsure if he would be roaming around the house, ready to eat an intruder's face off. So I decided to keep knocking in hopes that my mom wasn't blow drying her hair or blasting Christmas music too loudly to hear.
When she opened the door she was screaming. (I later learned that she had seen me through the peep hole and that's why she was screaming before the door was even open). I hugged my crying mama and out ran my little sister, Hannah screaming as well. The three of us hugged and cried and screamed some more. The relief of the surprise being over overwhelmed me. It felt so good to be hugging my family. And I sure was glad they were happy to see me (not that I was too worried they wouldn't be).
I urged everyone to keep off of snapchat, Facebook, twitter, instagram, and any other social media site that could reveal I was home before everyone got a chance to be surprised. (it was beyond difficult for us 20-something-year-olds).
Lindsay was next. We popped into the pharmacy she works at and asked for her at the front desk. I saw her head pop up from behind a glass barrier and just started cracking up. She came around the corner wiping her tears, asking me why I always do this to her. It's too good to see her reaction to NOT surprise her.
All my favorites in one parking lot. Did I mention how amazing it feels to be home?
So next we found my dad at the house he was working at. He is the HARDEST person on the planet to surprise. He is a surprise ruiner. He knows all of his gifts before he gets them. I was determined to catch him off guard. My sister called him and asked where he was working at the moment. He told her, but also asked why in the world she wanted to know. My adorable, just as terrible at lying as I am, little sister tried her best to feed him excuses. "I need to drop something off to you. What, you ask? Uhh, just something!" My dad said, "you're with someone aren't you?" So she hung up the phone and Hannah, Emily, Kailey, and I all got super bummed out, thinking he figured it out. He knew I was about to walk up to him, the surprise was over. I didn't even catch it on video because I thought he was expecting to see me. SURPRISE RUINER.
Well, guess what? I walked up as my dad was coming out from behind the house he was working at. His face absolutely lit up like a Christmas tree (see what I did there?) He asked what the heck I was doing here and gave me a huge hug. Turns out he had no clue the person showing up with Hannah would be me. MOTHER TRUCKER. But also *pats self on back* for actually pulling it off.
The last person on the list was my little baby sister, Karlee. At 5-years-old she is able to send me weekly snapchats saying she misses me and hopes I come back from Hawaii soon. She's the sweetest little girl on the planet.
She RAN up to me and gave me the biggest hug when I walked in the door. My dad told me, the entire next day she looked out the window, asking when I was coming over again. Feels so good to be loved by her, even though I'm hardly ever around. Even my 2-year-old brother gave me a huge hug. He REALLY doesn't know me. But they knew I was there for them and they made me feel the love.
I reunited with my best friends from high school. The big hugs I received confirmed that nothing had changed and probably never will. We love coming together during school breaks and partying like it's our senior prom all over again.
Then our Christmas Eve traditions began. Hannah and I showed up to our family gathering matching from head to toe. We are really mature and hilarious like that. My heart was so full from dancing in the car with my sister, eating at my favorite restaurant with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, telling Christmas stories, and playing Christmas games.
I honestly can't believe I wasn't going to come home this year. Although my skin is drying out from the weather, my allergies are absolutely killing me, and I can't seem to find pants to keep me warm enough once the sun goes down, I am overjoyed to be in Arizona with my family and friends. An entire year without them is far too long.
I am going to try my best to see everyone I love while I am here. Old friends, family, dance teachers and all. But if I don't make it to all of you, just know that I love and miss you all and think of you often while I'm living out my dreams in Hawaii. The support I get from everyone here in Arizona is heart warming and I couldn't ask for a better place to come home to for the holidays.
Mele Kalikimaka, friends. Merry Christmas to all my loves.
Arizona, you will always be my home.
I'll be out and about, being weird with my sister until the 30th.
xo, Tatum
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