The Changing Nature of Parties
Elementary School: I remember wanting more than anything to have my birthday party at McDonald's. I sent out invitations with a juicy (non-McDonald's) burger on the front and my recollections of the event tell me that it was as sweet as I had imagined.
The fun? McDonald's, of course.
Middle School: I hosted a huge blow-out at a park in my neighborhood,hoping upon hope that when the party finally came, my mom would change her mind and let us dance at the party. Didn't happen. I had about 15 girls spend the night afterward that split into two groups, becoming arch enemies for the night. The conflict?- one group wanted to go to sleep while the other would declare war on any individual to do so.
The fun? DRAMA.
High School and College: The fun was usually all about doing something crazy...typically irresponsible, thoughtless or spontaneous.
The fun? ummm, I guess maybe it was the moment. We were invincible then.
As Parents: A few nights back we celebrated one of our best friend's birthdays. While we had a great time talking and hanging out- the stark differences between this and parties of old was not lost on me. Our conversation centered mostly around funny or gross things that our kids are doing, whether or not they are sleeping, eating, teething, talking, walking, etc. The big hit of the night was when Lucy took a few steps for all to see. At that point John said, " Hey Rod, I'll bet you didn't know that your birthday party was actually going to be a big playdate."
The fun? Enjoying a new element of life, a new stage, new era. The big deal is poop, not glam; joy, not just fun.
The fun? McDonald's, of course.
Middle School: I hosted a huge blow-out at a park in my neighborhood,hoping upon hope that when the party finally came, my mom would change her mind and let us dance at the party. Didn't happen. I had about 15 girls spend the night afterward that split into two groups, becoming arch enemies for the night. The conflict?- one group wanted to go to sleep while the other would declare war on any individual to do so.
The fun? DRAMA.
High School and College: The fun was usually all about doing something crazy...typically irresponsible, thoughtless or spontaneous.
The fun? ummm, I guess maybe it was the moment. We were invincible then.
As Parents: A few nights back we celebrated one of our best friend's birthdays. While we had a great time talking and hanging out- the stark differences between this and parties of old was not lost on me. Our conversation centered mostly around funny or gross things that our kids are doing, whether or not they are sleeping, eating, teething, talking, walking, etc. The big hit of the night was when Lucy took a few steps for all to see. At that point John said, " Hey Rod, I'll bet you didn't know that your birthday party was actually going to be a big playdate."
The fun? Enjoying a new element of life, a new stage, new era. The big deal is poop, not glam; joy, not just fun.
posted by Mamie at
4/02/2008 12:00:00 PM
4 Comments:
Nicely put!!! And amen to that! No matter what I have to say life with children is more beautiful than anything prior to!!!
Hey Mamie- thanks so much for finding me! Your family is so adorable, and Lucy looks like you!! I am going to add you to my blog list so that I might keep up with you now, is that okay?
I agree with you- life is SO different after having kids, poop and all!
We need to see a blog post with pictures of you yard pre- and post- your latest work.
Great post. Thoughtful point of view of a content parent. And SOOO true, indeed! :)
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