The Birthday Party

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later... a birthday party invitation slipped into her little backpack from a friend at school who would actually feel bad if we refused.

I'll call the friend "Brian." He's a sweet little boy with a contagious grin. He is part Korean (an unbelievable coincidence in our 98% white suburb) -- and he has a HUGE crush on Little Miss. He picks Little Miss to sing the alphabet song with him in school and edges shyly over to us to say goodbye in the end-of-day pick-up hustle.

I've politely refused all the invitations that have come so far -- citing family plans or other excuses. But for Brian, how could I say no?

It had been almost a year since we attended a friend's birthday party... and this was our first party at someplace other than a family home. We showed up at The Little Gym at the appointed time with Brian's gift in hand and were invited to remove our shoes and join the other kids who were already playing in the gym.

It started out pretty well. After participating in Gymboree for a year, Little Miss is familiar with play gym environments. She tried out the equipment and even walked the long balance beam without stepping off.

But then the other guests started to arrive. Swarms of fast-moving older kids (some were as old as 5) threatened Little Miss's precocious balance and she shied away from the equipment. The teachers tossed out balls and hula-hoops and Little Miss started collecting. By the time the teachers collected the balls for clean-up, Little Miss was alternately chewing on her hands, shirt, and anything else she could get in her mouth. Things were going south fast.

Then, to the delight of 99% of the kids, they brought out the air trampoline. For those of you who have not experienced the "air tramp," it's like a bounce house with no sides. I pulled Little Miss aside and explained that when they turned the air tramp on, it was going to sound like a vacuum cleaner. The little hands went to the ears faster than lightning and that was the end of that. Even now, as she looks at the picture with me, the first words out of her mouth were "it too LOUD!"

We spent the rest of the play time in the parents' waiting area... sitting on as many chairs as we possibly could and doing some rather frantic sit-ups.

When Brian's mom announced that it was time for cake, Little Miss perked up a bit... so we decided to give it a shot. She chose a seat at the end of the table and chowed on pretzels (the cake went mostly untouched). Unfortunately, we went from cake right into presents -- and the presents were opened in the main lobby, so there was no way to make an escape. that proved completely overwhelming for Little Miss and she spent the last 15 minutes of the party in my arms, away from the reach of the over-excited throng.

I've been debating whether to invite some of Little Miss's friends to join us for her upcoming birthday, but I think now the decision has been made for me. We're not ready for this... not yet.

Source: http://beyondthedryervent.blogspot.com/2012/02/birthday-party.html

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