Abby's Birthday Celebration

Abby decided to invite the three other girls in her class out to see a movie and go to our favorite pizza place in honor of her birthday.

These girls have accompanied her for the last two years. They have gotten to know each other very well, and have a connection that I think will last for a very long time. There was a lot of laughter, playfulness, and good energy. I am grateful for this sweetness shared between them.








A note about expectations...
In our family's season of birthdays (one in each month from Jan-April) Abby waits the longest to celebrate. Because of this (and also maybe because of her age) she spends a lot of time planning...she had well over 6 or 7 different ideas for a party this year. we brainstormed, and evaluated, and thought it through over and over and over. Finally, I sat her down and told her that I thought her expectations were too high, and that maybe we should just do something simple like a movie and pizza with her three friends. She agreed.

But, after they all left, there were tears, and she said she wanted a party do-over. It was not that she was ungrateful. It just did not meet her expectations...she did not like the movie, the pizza place with loud and chaotic, and the time at our house with cupcakes was too short. She cried. I cried. Birthday party blues.

I must admit that my expectations were high too. I wanted things to be cozy and perfect. I made three different batches of chocolate cupcakes because they were not turning out. I made two different batches of frosting because something in the dye made them curdle and look terrible and taste even worse. I was hoping for a nice, springy purple tone and they looked quite grey. I RAN to get the perfect little party favors that I had seen in a store close by and there was no one there to sell them to me.

All in all, the sweet girls who came did not pick up of these feelings, but it was a difficult evening, and I now have another year to think about how to do it better.