If you read my article about my 40th birthday a year-and-a-half ago, you know that my family managed to take a normal day of nothing particularly special and transform it into one of the best birthdays I can remember. I knew right then that I wanted to give Jeff a day just as special when he turned 40.

A few months ago I began thinking about how to celebrate his big day on Oct. 6. I thought about throwing a huge party, complete with black balloons, old-age gag gifts, etc., but that just didn’t seem to be what I wanted to do for him. Finally I had a novel idea — I asked him what he’d like for his birthday. ‘You know, Alisa, I have always wished I could go see a Bengals game.”

My husband is a huge football fan. His idea of a perfect fall Saturday is flipping back and forth between channels to keep up with all the college football scores and Sunday afternoons are spent watching NFL games. When he mentioned going to a game, my mind went back to when we first met, and our early years of marriage, when Cincinnati won many more games than they lost. He’s always been a big fan of the Bengals and he’s remained faithful to them even though they’ve had some rough years recently.

When I discovered they had a Monday night home game during our Fall Break, which also happened to be the Monday before he would turn 40 on Saturday, I decided that’s what we’d do for his birthday.

Since it’s almost impossible for us to get away alone, Jeff insisted we make his birthday present a mini-vacation for the entire family. So, I bought Bengals and Kings Island tickets and made reservations for two nights in a downtown Cincinnati hotel within walking distance of Paul Brown Stadium.

We had the most fun we’ve had as a family in years. The boys and I rode all the roller coasters at King’s Island (birthday boy doesn’t love roller coasters, so he and Abby watched), and the kids actually had fun together instead of arguing.

We walked around downtown Cincinnati and found a shop where we bought new Bengals attire for the game and we even attended a Bengals block party in Fountain Square.

I took photos of Jeff and the kids standing in front of Paul Brown Stadium and ESPN’s broadcasting booth. The look on Jeff’s face spoke volumes and I must say I felt all mushy-good inside that the kids and I had given him such a neat birthday present.

And then it hit me how hard he had worked for this “present” that the kids and I had “given” him. He drove the entire three-and-a-half-hours to Cincinnati while the kids and I relaxed during the ride. He carried Abby on his shoulders all through King’s Island, as well as up the numerous ramps and stairs to our seats in the very top of the stadium and then the next day at Newport on the Levee as we trekked from the van to visit the aquarium.

Throughout the whole trip, even with Abby on his shoulders, and even though he looked a little winded from a particularly long upward hike, his eyes sparkled. He enjoyed watching his first NFL game, which was the main reason for our trip. He didn’t mind driving us, being our pack mule, or missing a few minutes of the game taking Nat to the bathroom — again.

I’m thinking that what made his birthday really special was not the Bengals game itself, or even the trip, but that he experienced it surrounded by the love of his family.