One thing about growing up is re-living memories you had when you were a kid with your children. I have taken my girls to Colonial Williamsburg, Washington, D.C. and White Sands, New Mexico, all places that I visited with my parents when I was growing up. I have also taken them to a baseball game, albeit a minor league one. However, one of the fondest memories that I have is of backyard birthday parties. When we lived in Massachusetts, we would invite everyone in the neighborhood and my dad would cook hotdogs and hamburgers and then we would go down to the ballfield and play baseball. At some point in the proceedings, I would usually throw up.
When I had kids, I wanted to recreate the experience. We set up tables in the backyard and put up streamers and balloons. We invited the neighbor kids. There would be birthday cake and games. At some point, Kristen would throw up or fall asleep. It was all good times. It was all completely orchestrated by the parents. We sent out the invitations, put up the decorations, baked the cake, organized the games and wrote out the name tags.
Kristen's Seventh Birthday Party
My birthday parties stopped after we moved to Texas. We didn't have the same close-knit neighborhood and at 13, I was really too old for such things. However, Kristen has kept the birthday party tradition alive all the way up to her 18th Birthday Party, which was yesterday.
Opening Presents in the Present Day
One thing which has changed is the level of adult involvement. We open our home to Kristen's friends, but really have no idea how many people are coming until they arrive. This year, Kristen warned me to expect 18 guests. I think I counted 28 at one point. My role was limited to buying and cooking the food and keeping a watchful eye on the festivities. Everything else was organized by Kristen and her friends.
Teenagers Caught on Video
This year's birthday party had a murder mystery theme. They found a script online and assigned parts. Despite having a large number of teenage boys and girls in close quarters, the result was organized chaos. And what do 17 and 18 year olds like? The most popular beverage was chocolate milk. The most popular food was Frito pie. This time the party went late into the night. However, I was the one who fell asleep.
A Scene From Murder at the Dunmore Lodge
It's hard to believe that I have an 18 year old. My little girl of birthday parties past is now old enough to get married or join the army (neither one of which I hope she does anytime soon). One thing that has changed is that birthday parties have gone from parent-driven events to communal gatherings. There is something gratifying about seeing a diverse group of kids organize a positive event where the strongest drink served was chocolate milk. The Who was right. The Kids are All Right.
1 comment:
Don't sell yourself short! A good portion of that is due to good up-bringing!
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