This picture is from Sam and Ellie’s three-year-old birthday party. They had the time of their lives playing on gymnastics equipment, dancing, and eating cake.
It could have gone either way.
Because for every party that our kids have jumped right into the action, there’s been another that they’ve sat on my lap the whole time.
Which really makes no one happy.
Me: the one who has cleared our schedule for the party, given up an afternoon of making serious headway on the laundry or real family fun only to sit at a pottery studio or waterpark or tea room and hold the child who has done nothing for the past two weeks but carried around the invitation to this exact party.
Birthday Kid: Even though the social skills for anyone under ten are sketchy at best, no one wants to host the party guest who sits on their mom’s lap and screams, “No!” at every suggestion to paint, dance, or eat cake. It’s awkward for everyone. Probably most awkward for the birthday kid’s parents who can’t help but offer–every fifteen seconds or so–if there’s ANYTHING they can do to help my child have fun.
I took an informal poll of moms at a recent party. Sam had his head buried in my shoulder for two hours and they were sympathetic and quick with stories of their own. “Yes! Yes!” they agreed, “usually my kid is the one doing that!” They all insisted that their children had JUST grown out of the wallflower stage.
Actually, there’s probably something to their promises. Catie has gotten better with age. She almost always joins in now days. Mostly.
And even the twins seem to enjoy birthday parties a bit more with each one–and at a younger age than Catie did.
With this kind of track record, we may be onto something. If Baby #4 can bypass just a couple years of antisocial behavior, we’re only months from total birthday party enjoyment.
