The Party went down this past Saturday and the world did not implode. But was there awkwardness? Oh yes, to the nth degree. I made the gift all spiffy with primary colors. I got a pair of pants and two onesies that I had originally gotten for my own kid but then felt guilty that I was buying brown-eyed babe new things and had yet to pick out a present for Birthday Baby. Therefore I exchanged the pieces for larger sizes, much larger sizes, because Birthday Baby is much much bigger than brown-eyed babe. ( My kid looks like a munchkin next to Birthday Baby and they are only 2 months apart.) I also picked out what I believed to be a fabulously adorable Backyardigans birthday card. I apparently was not the only one charmed by its cuteness as another parent got the exact same card. And their gift was opened up first, meaning the card was opened first and our card was opened second leaving us (me) to look like the loser copycat parent who failed to be original.
But Birthday Mom was nice about it.
One of the activities was face painting. Brown-eyed babe sat still as a mouse throughout the 5-minute process. Then 5 minutes later she rubbed up against me in the process of squirming out of my lap and rubbed the pretty neon pink flower onto my black shirt. Where, I must say it was not as impressive and did not resemble a flower in the least.
Brown-eyed babe spent a hot minute with the Birthday Baby and a couple of her daycare baby friends, but was mostly content to play in the grass, practicing her standing. And I must say that after all my anxiety about the potential awkwardness of the situation I was more than happy to focus on her, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that I was the only black person (not counting brown-eyed babe because she is only half black and under the age of one) and the only one without a mate. I should get over that aspect of my new life as quickly as possible as I am sure that there are many more of these situations to come.
I have popped my birthday party cherry as a new mom. Woot.
3 comments:
I've seen birthdays get way outta hand with rented tables, chairs and Martha Stewart worthy craft centers complete with massive assortments of garish sequins, glues in a rainbow of hues, and anal control freak parents right behind the "crafting" kids, telling them which bling to put where. Thanks for saying my kids' names kid arse. Yours is arse-kickin' too. Happy you made it through your first b-day hazing.
woohoohoo - the first time has got to be the scariest (er - you do know i'm talking parties here, i trust), but it can get more and more complicated ... for example, when b-e b (and the other little guests) starts expressing opinions on the entertainment, catering, venue ...
diplomacy is not a gift that many under-20s have, so you've got a few years of fun ahead!
present looks fab, btw. i'd have been chuffed to bits to receive such an offering.
x
I hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit! I sometimes feel awkward in those situations, but you just have to brush it off!
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