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Six
I survived. BARELY.
Who knew only six kids could make such a sustained, hellish racket in my house? Who knew the mere presence of balloons would cause said kids to run amok, bopping each other and screaming at the top of their lungs for 30 straight minutes? Who knew that Mommy needed something much, much more "festive" than coffee? Who knew that I would be beyond thrilled to realize the next such event is a blessed 350+ days away???
What, all of you knew? Why didn't you tell me???
Flipper's 6th birthday party was a "success" - depending upon how success is defined. I define it like this: She only cried twice. The kids didn't strangle each other. Indeed, they all got along quite well. She was thrilled by her presents, and she got some great ones - nary a Barbie doll in sight. Veggie "pigs-in-a-blanket" a hit. Individual macaroni and cheeses: also a hit.
Isn't it better this way, to shoot for small victories instead of massive ones? The bittersweet undertone is that I cannot believe I have a six year old. The memories I have of her babyhood, her toddlerhood, are already fading.
I hold old pictures of her but cannot really remember what she looked like then, what she acted like, what we did all day. It is the beautiful and painful part of parenting: Forced, even against your own desires, to live only in the present.
Things you think you will never forget fade gently away and are lost forever. Even my endless picture-taking has faded. At her party, I only took three or four shots. I used to take 100 or so at a party.
Her birthdays always stir up these feelings in me, and then, like the curly hair she had as a baby, they are gone and we are caught up once more in our busy cycle of school and work and friends and family and, yes, parties.
Throwing one, even for an almost-six-year-old, was exhausting in some ways, like parenting itself. But that night in bed, recounting everything but the tears, she said, "This was the best party ever."
And so, like parenting, it was all worth it.
Leigh appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh on her blog Flipper and Me.
Leigh Sparacino
Leigh is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Monday.
Leigh grew up in Durham, attended college in North Carolina, left the area for an island off the coast of Georgia, the high mountains of Colorado, and her favorite mountains in western North Carolina, before returning to the Triangle eight years ago. She lives near Carrboro with her 4.5-year-old daughter Flipper and two dogs. She is single in marital status only, surrounded by friends, family, and her daughter's very involved and loving father. She works part-time and tries to be as involved as possible in her daughter's school, The Emerson Waldorf School, where Flipper is a kindergartner. She likes wood, glass and other natural materials for toys, loves the principles of Waldorf education and hates plastic. She might be the only person in the world with no TV and who hasn't been to a movie in 15 years, but races to the mailbox every Saturday for the most recent issue of People magazine. In other words, a contradiction. Or just human.
Leigh appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh on her blog Flipper and Me.
Comments
I want to see the pictures!!!
I used to be obsessed with taking pictures, but I started realizing I was watching all the most important moments through the lens, and started learning to actually participate in the moment. I've let go of my obsession to photograph every moment, and instead live it........
I have the same problem Lilybug...I try to strike a balance between still having SOME pictures of the event and still participating in it.
Leigh, I feel the same way about birthdays..... My son turns 6 in three weeks and six seems way to big. Beautiful post.
One thing I've learned to do is start handing the camera to other people!!
Hey, it's not a party unless someone cries!:-)