Party time faithful readers! I’ve got six little boys at my house running high on pizza, root beer and cupcakes. To celebrate his tenth birthday, my darling boy chose to have a slumber party and watch Ghostbusters 1 & 2 with his friends. Both Husband and I have been laughing and commenting to each other as we eavesdrop on “man talk” as the boys call it. They talked throughout dinner, while putting on their pajamas and while their settling into their sleeping bags to watch movies. They talk and bicker and giggle in a way I never thought I would hear from a group of ten year old boys. As I write, I am "supervising" the controlled chaos of a pillow fight. There are so many oxymoronic statements in that last sentence they aren’t even worth counting. However, they are things I dreamed of for a long time.
I was ready to have kids when I was 25. Some people, especially those who've known me since childhood could easily argue that I have been ready since I was about 8. My dolls and bears were much loved, well cared for, fabulously dressed and if they been anything other than inanimate objects, would surely felt completely smothered. Suffice it to say, I was ready for the real thing. A few months after my 31st birthday, Husband brought darling boy into my life when said boy was three years old. I’m the only mother he knows and very, very selfishly, I’m glad about that.
Not many people would guess that we aren’t genetically linked. We have the same big rosy cheeks. His voice projects as well, if not better, than mine and he is kind and compassionate in all the ways I hope myself to be. And speaking of genetics, he is of both European and East Indian decent so he certainly looks like he belongs to both Husband and me. Our family makeup is a bit like my illness – it looks completely normal on the outside but inside, it is a bit more complex.
Darling boy’s birthday parties became my domain when he turned 4. It has been a lot of fun to plan and even more fun to attend each of these events. We’ve had big family parties, cowboy campouts, fire station extravaganzas and adventures to an 19th century style working farm. I've gone to some long lengths to "be there" for each year's celebration. Two years ago, I was in Boston for work just days before both his actual birthday and party. I’d been in Boston for a week already and had to be there for another week’s worth of work. 16 hours before darling boys party was supposed to start I flew home to Seattle. Less than 48 hours later, I was back on a plane to Boston. I didn't get much sleep but I will never forget being part of that party. I am now fully cognizant of how ludicrous that kind of whirlwind travel sounds but I will never regret that I did it.
For this year’s birthday party, I decided to buy the pizza and cupcakes. We had party favors but they were water bottles with their name on it so nobody needed more than one cup and they could find themselves. I’ve added to my local landfill with a mountain of paper plates and hundreds of napkins and the helium balloons and streamers were put up by Husband and darling boy. I reserved my energy for dishing up pizza and sitting with the boys (under the guise of reading my book) while they giggled themselves into dreamland. It was definitely a different kind of party planning process and a more low key event than we've had previously however the important things were still the same - the confirmation from darling boy that he had fun and that he loves me.
I was ready to have kids when I was 25. Some people, especially those who've known me since childhood could easily argue that I have been ready since I was about 8. My dolls and bears were much loved, well cared for, fabulously dressed and if they been anything other than inanimate objects, would surely felt completely smothered. Suffice it to say, I was ready for the real thing. A few months after my 31st birthday, Husband brought darling boy into my life when said boy was three years old. I’m the only mother he knows and very, very selfishly, I’m glad about that.
Not many people would guess that we aren’t genetically linked. We have the same big rosy cheeks. His voice projects as well, if not better, than mine and he is kind and compassionate in all the ways I hope myself to be. And speaking of genetics, he is of both European and East Indian decent so he certainly looks like he belongs to both Husband and me. Our family makeup is a bit like my illness – it looks completely normal on the outside but inside, it is a bit more complex.
Darling boy’s birthday parties became my domain when he turned 4. It has been a lot of fun to plan and even more fun to attend each of these events. We’ve had big family parties, cowboy campouts, fire station extravaganzas and adventures to an 19th century style working farm. I've gone to some long lengths to "be there" for each year's celebration. Two years ago, I was in Boston for work just days before both his actual birthday and party. I’d been in Boston for a week already and had to be there for another week’s worth of work. 16 hours before darling boys party was supposed to start I flew home to Seattle. Less than 48 hours later, I was back on a plane to Boston. I didn't get much sleep but I will never forget being part of that party. I am now fully cognizant of how ludicrous that kind of whirlwind travel sounds but I will never regret that I did it.
For this year’s birthday party, I decided to buy the pizza and cupcakes. We had party favors but they were water bottles with their name on it so nobody needed more than one cup and they could find themselves. I’ve added to my local landfill with a mountain of paper plates and hundreds of napkins and the helium balloons and streamers were put up by Husband and darling boy. I reserved my energy for dishing up pizza and sitting with the boys (under the guise of reading my book) while they giggled themselves into dreamland. It was definitely a different kind of party planning process and a more low key event than we've had previously however the important things were still the same - the confirmation from darling boy that he had fun and that he loves me.
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