Ah, it's called MATURITY.
Your kids have reached the age they can vomit on their own.
You are no longer responsible for every little bump, scrape, disappointment. Being left to their own devices where you know they have limits, but they can pretend they don't.... birthday nirvana.
In retrospect, I don't know why we did those terrible parties when they were really little. ALthough I must say I never fell prey to kind of event that one of our neighbors held, where adults were all expected to come bearing gifts and paying homage at an infant's first birthday. We tended to keep the number of guests equivalent to the age, and that worked well. Skating and bowling parties were the exception.
We gave a surprise party for CW on his tenth birthday, and when he walked in and all his friends leaped out screaming, he turned around and walked back out the door. He was terrified. He said later he thought he was having a heart attack. He hated it and made me promise never to do that again. He still brings it up as an example of child abuse.
Gosh, you have me remembering all those parties. Where did I get the energy. I did treasure hunts and pirate parties, dinosaur parties, we had clowns (not a big hit with some nervous five year olds, by the way). We did a theatre party one year, again not one I would repeat. I made everything from scratch-- including cakes with tuppence baked inside, and a fortune telling cake that I inserted fortunes for each child into the cake tied to a ribbon and going from the center of the table to the child's place for them to pull out.
Who WAS that madwoman?
My kids remember nothing.
"Did I ever have a birthday party?"
By the time they reach the age they might actually begin enjoying parties and remember having them, you are bitter and exhausted. You throw a Hostess TWinkie at them and flick the lights on and off.
Happy birthday.
Mom, my birthday was last week.
Good for you to have managed to gut it out and actually SUCCEED!
THAT"S a good mom. And if you timed it right they may even remember it. |
