Birthday Party

My son was invited to a birthday party today. And my daughter was invited to a birthday party today. One year ago to the date, the same scenario played out the exact same way. And just like last year, I took my son to his friend's birthday party and my husband took our daughter to her friend's birthday party. And I can remember all of this perfectly because it is recorded in our 'blip history'.

My son's party was 'awesome' (according to my son). And I would describe it as 'delightful'. My son made a favorite friend in preschool last year and then his friend went on to Kindergarten. This boy's younger brother started up in the preschool this year. So my son is good friends with both of them. This party was a huge family event. It brought me back to the days when I lived in Mexico. The party was very cultural in ways that I knew only because of my time spent living with a wonderful Hispanic family in Central Mexico. They would invite me along to every party and in Mexico, every event is celebrated with a huge party. And this party was no different.

My son was the only child invited who was not a member of the large extended family that gathered for this birthday party today. But you wouldn't have known that he was not one of 'the cousins' as well. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. It melted my heart when one of the Grandfather's went around the table checking on each of his Grandchildren to make sure that they were getting enough to eat, and he put just as much concern and thought in my son as he did with all the others. There were over twenty cousins sitting around a long table. Twenty cousins and my son. And like I said before, it was a delightful experience. They saved a spot for him next to his little 'birthday' buddy and I have the most wonderful photo of my son's face lit up by the candle light as his little friend was blowing out the candles.

The kids had a ball at this party. It was hosted at one of those bouncy, running, jumping places. And the music was loud. The darken atmosphere made all of the white clothing glow. And the way my son was running around with all of the other kids......well it made me see a quick glimpse of him in his teenage years. He absolutely did not need me there for any kind of 'mommy support'. But that was a good thing. I just stayed back a bit so that he could really feel the independence of being just one of the kids in the huge group. And he loved every minute of it. Of course, I was able to get a few darling photos of he and his little buddies. And I told the boy's Mom that I would print copies for her. She was so appreciative.

Throughout the party, I really had an opportunity to get to know her better. She told me that she was raised in Mexico and was very excited when I shared with her my experience of living in Mexico. She introduced me to all of the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and neighbors. And again, we felt so much a part of this large extended family. We of course extended an invite to my son's party this weekend and I could tell that they were touched by the gesture. We are entering into a new phase of life, my husband and I. We are now starting to meet people because of our kids and the friendships that they are making. It makes me realize how quickly our kids are growing up. My son especially. Today, he blazed his own trail. And each and every opportunity like this continues to boost his confidence and self-esteem. From a Mother's view point, these moments that he experiences are wonderful to see.