Birthday Parties

Attending birthday parties come and go in one's life, I think.

When I was small, I had a few. Not like the extravaganza I've seen in the last few years, but more like my mother baked a cake, bought some ice cream, invited four or five kids to the house and voila'! A birthday party.

As I was a little older, I think we played pin the tail on the donkey for a prize (a candy bar, maybe). I also had a Bull Winkle cardboard cutout that came with rings. You tried to throw the rings on his antlers for points. Different antlers had different points.

We dressed up for the parties, girls in dresses and boys in clean pants or shorts and shirts.

When I became a teenager, I didn't have parties much. Turning sixteen, my mother cooked all my favorite foods and invited my boyfriend to eat supper with us. I think I asked for homemade fudge instead of cake.

Then there were no more birthday parties to attend that I recall until I had Daughter. We had family birthday parties when she was little, with a few friends thrown into the mix.

When she was a preteen it was having girls spend the night.

As a teenager, she wanted to go out to eat and shop.

So, the parties stopped again.

My nephew had a baby a few years ago, and we are going to his second birthday party tomorrow. I think it will be mostly family in attendance.

As far as I know, there will be no hired musicians, giant animals walking around, pony rides, or anything else. Just food, a few presents, and lots of talk amongst the adults.

Now, that's my kind of party.