OK - so we've never had a REAL birthday party for Ann Catherine before. Well, we've had family birthday parties but never one with kids before. I was starting to feel guilty once she hit Kindergarten and started getting invitations to other kids' parties. The guilt only grew last year when she hit first grade and it seemed like EVERY kid had a party except her. Of course, my hesitation was always her anxiety and her frequent last-minute decisions to not participate or interact with other kids at various functions. I could only imagine paying hundreds of dollars for a huge party only to have my child hide behind my legs and refuse to talk to anyone while all the other kids had a ball!
But this year we decided to bite the bullet and throw her a party. We had a little extra money left over from vacation and thought it would be great to use it on her party. She seems to have come out of her shell a little bit and I've actually seen her play at other kids' parties this year so we thought this would be a great time to celebrate.
In Ann Catherine's class, the teacher's rule is that if you send party invites to the classroom to be handed out, you have to invite the whole class. I was OK with that. Honestly, I thought not many would come because of how close to Thanksgiving we were and because she's a little shy (or overly bossy depending on which parent's personality trait is coming out at that moment). And since her closer friends are in her Girl Scout troop and go to church with her, I thought I'd go ahead and invite the Troop girls too. I sent out 30 invites but paid for a party for 15 kids (the smallest they offer). I honestly didn't even think 10 would come. I even told Mom she and Dad didn't need to come because the adults were all going to get lost (or ignored) in the party.
Imagine my surprise when, as of this evening, I get 15 kids RSVPing YES! And I suspect we're going to have a few surprise guests as well. So now I'm wondering if I've lost my mind! I only know of 4 adults coming to this party - me, Brian and my in-laws! We've gone from imaging a sweet, quiet party with 10 or so kids. Now I'm imaging a room full of chaos with 20! And more chunk of change rolling out of my pocket to pay for the extra guests!
The good news? It reassures my mommy-heart. It tells me that my child has friends. No one wants their child to be lonely and I've heard my daughter cry more than once because she thought that no one liked her. I WAS that little girl so long ago! And it always hurt my heart for her. I didn't want my life for her. I wanted so much better. So hearing that 20 kids love my daughter enough to want to spend a couple hours with her makes my heart just melt. And I don't even mind knowing that I may have to pay a lot more than I originally anticipated. For my daughter's birthday, I feel like I'm giving her the best gift of all - the knowledge that her life is full of laughter, fun and friends. It can't get much better than that!
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3 comments:
I'm so glad she's going to have a lot of friends at her party! I bet she's going to have a great time. I just wish we could be there! Take pictures!
Awww, that's so cool. The next time she feels like no one likes her, you can remind her of how many people wanted to come celebrate her birthday with her! I hope she has a great birthday (and that you manage to have some fun, too). :-)
Oh, I'm so glad she's going to have lots of friends come to her party. Take lots of picture. I know she must be so excited. Tell her we'll be thinking about her and wishing we were there to see her having so much fun. And not only will she remember this party with a smile; I think you will, too.
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