Once the party was in full swing, our house was wall-to-wall people, and the two hours became a blur of pastries in and out of the oven and various kids asking me for stuff with blue/green/red stained mouths. I lost track of time, and often the birthday girl. At various moments I hoped to myself someone was showing her a good time.
At 45 minutes in (I thought it had been at least 90), I caught the birthday girl quietly heading upstairs to play by herself. It was a little bit heartbreaking, not least because I completely understood where she was coming from, but I had to gently coax her down. I put her on a loving lap with some cake on the side and got back to the pastries.
The look on her face told me that the birthday cake had to be rolled out ahead of schedule. I started rounding up kids, and just as soon as I did, they slipped through my net and disappeared into the bushes again, screaming and eating those crazy sherbet things I gave them (gee I hope they did not cause permanent staining/facial tattooing).
Happy Birthday was led by me, I hope the strain in my voice wasn't too evident, and the birthday girl stood there looking a bit stunned by the audience and the noise. This girl is a cake lover from way back, but I must say - seemed a little underwhelmed by it all and didn't even eat any.
Oh well - that's kid's parties for you. A lot of work, an emotional roller-coaster for the subject, a mildly trashed house, frosting stained furniture and no memory of what happened once it ends. Some things about parties remain constant throughout life ....
Here's our girl at two hours in, this photo says it all for me.
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