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My Profile
Retro-retrospection - 2008-10-06
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12:11 p.m. - 2005-06-26
'The BEST birthday party ever!' That is a direct quote from my 8 year old. 8! My little Wolf is 8. And he had a slam bang birthday party. Fun, fun and more fun. Enough people showed up to make it a real celebration and not so many that it was unrelenting chaos. The guests had a great time. Wolf's present from us was a smasher. We got him an inflatable water slide. I cant find a link for it, darn it all. (Must get camera to cooperate!) The thing is a monster. It's about 7' high and has an arch at the top that shoots big curtains of water. The foot of the slide extends about 15'. The kids whiz down the slide and skid along the slip-n-slide thing. We ended up making it even longer because they were shooting off the end and getting yard burn. Mike rolled out a big swath of plastic sheeting and then put an old foam mattress pad at the end. Worked like a charm. No more yard burn and the kids loved the extra long slide. Wolf and his friends climbed and bounced and body surfed the entire afternoon. I tell you what, there were some pooped partiers last night. I'm so happy Wolf had a wonderful day. One of the parents asked what we could do to top this. I laughed. I don't think we are obligated to top anything. Wolf had a fantastic 8th birthday. He'll remember it forever. No need to keep upping the ante until we're forced to rent a Space Shuttle and take him and his buddies to the moon. Next year will be next year. With proper care his water slide will still work and we might just invite the gang back over for another round of BBQ and water fun. In any case, the idea that each birthday celebration has to be bigger and better than the previous year's is absurd. That way lies madness. I think one phantasmagoric birthday party per life stage is more than sufficient. This one was the best-est of his childhood birthdays. Together we'll plot something really cool for one of his teen birthdays. Or might just wait and throw a big birthday/graduation bash for his 18th. Between now and then Wolf's birthday won't go uncelebrated, but there's no reason we have to pull out the stops every year. It's that kind of thinking that leads to spoiled brats and 12 year old jaded roués who scoff at balloons and cake and expect a catered sit-down dinner for 500 guests. Nuh uh. Not my kid. Laura said the nicest thing! She hadn't been to the house since we'd truly moved in. Last time she was here was for another of Wolf's birthday parties. At that time we were still living in the old house, but we held Wolf's party here to take advantage of the shade trees and swing set. Laura had seen the Hobbit House mid-renovation and liked it then. When I toured her around yesterday she oohed and ahhhed in a most satisfying way. Then she said the nice thing. She said, "LA, your house is wonderful. It's just like you. Interesting, artistic and elegant." 'Elegant'! Wow. I think one of the reasons I like to travel is that I come home with fresh eyes. No matter how much you try to consciously appreciate your surroundings, you become inured to them. When I go away and return I am delighted afresh by the beauty of my little corner of the world. When I was serving my time in Gahanna, excuse me, Texas and I'd come home here for a visit I mostly spent my time completely bonked out by loveliness. The trees, the greenery, the time worn smooth Catskill Mountains. The centuries' old homes. The curving roads which wind along beside streams. It's all too easy to take those things for granted when you see them every day. I catch myself at it. Making a run into Podunkville I'll ignore the graceful antiquity of the place and only see that the inn needs paint and the pot hole on Church Street has gotten deep enough to bust an axle. Laura's compliments yesterday brought me up short. Guilty. Unless it's something new like the backsplash, I've been seeing my house in terms of chipped paint and pot holes. I mean I don't expect to burst into tears of joy every time I come back from Shoprite, but I should remember to enjoy my house a little bit. Nitpicking about water spots on the faucet and dust on the grandfather clock and never seeing my home for its comfort and prettiness is just dumb. Today is certainly a good day to kick back and appreciate. Thanks to the nutty week beforehand everything around here is done. Gardens weeded. Lawn mowed. House sparkles. The fridge is stuffed with yummy leftovers. None of us (including Mike!) has a single thing we HAVE to do today. Feels good. Tomorrow is Wolf's first day of summer school. The summer program is only a half day. He leaves a little earlier than during the regular school year, but he's home by 12:30. When he gets off the bus tomorrow I'm throwing him in the car and heading for Maureen's. We'll spend the afternoon swimming. When the husbands get home Mike will raid our fridge and tote over some of the party food. We'll cook up some burgers on the grill and hang out poolside 'til bedtime. Oh yeah. It's summer and the living is easy. ~LA
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