Parties Are A Lot Of Pressure

The day of Greenleigh’s birthday party, she woke up “off”.  I mean, she wasn’t sick, but she wasn’t herself.  She actually woke up very similar to when she had the flu back in January, except she wasn’t throwing up at the mere suggestion of food.  She was tired, lazy, and cranky – all the things she normally isn’t…scratch that, she’s often cranky, but the rest?  Well, that’s just odd for her.  As I explained to the pediatrician the day before, Greenleigh lives her life at a steady 12 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most intense.  Clearly all of this was happening because I dared to say that out loud.  It probably had more to do with all the family in town and late nights associated with their arrival, but I wasn’t thinking rationally at the time.  What had happened to my crazy, intense child?

I was panicked.  We were contractually obligated to spend hundreds of dollars on her birthday party that day whether she was there or not.  I had no real reason to keep her home, but the worst-case-scenario voice in my head kept thinking, “How will we party without a birthday girl there?”.  How do you sing happy birthday to someone who isn’t actually there?  Will we just skip that part and serve the cake?  Surely this has happened to some poor soul out there, but I was frantically hoping and praying that it wasn’t going to happen for us.

I tried my hardest to get her up and excited about her party, to no avail.  She actually told me she didn’t want to have a party.  Um, no.  This is definitely happening.  I figured I would get her up and into the shower – the water would definitely wake her up.  How could it not?  Then she fell asleep in the shower.  That was a first.  I panicked a little more.  She continued to fall asleep in strange places until we finally left the house and she started to perk up a bit.  And by perk up, I mean she was able to stay awake for periods of time longer than 5 minutes.

Throughout the party she was a bit subdued.  I mean, no one would know it except for me, because I’m her mom and I know how she really is.  Instead of her steady 12 on the intensity scale, she was at a meager 2, if that.  She quietly played with toys, sat completely still for the puppet show, and had to be reminded to eat her cupcake.

Hazeline on the other hand, had the time of her life.  She wandered around the party and mingled, she played with every toy she could get her hands on, and she even ate an entire ice cream sundae by herself.  It might as well have been her party.  She certainly enjoyed it as if it was her party.

While watching Hazeline, my friend’s mother said, “You can always tell who the party is for because their sibling is having the best time.  Parties are a lot of pressure.”  Isn’t that the truth.  During Hazeline’s party Greenleigh ran around like a crazy girl and had a ball.  She was a little leery of the petting zoo, but she rode the ponies, ate like she had never eaten before, and bounced in the bounce house until they came to take it away.  Hazeline had fun, but she got tired quickly.  She seemed pretty over the whole party thing by the time we did her cake.  So while neither one of them was around while I planned their individual parties, addressed invites, or ordered custom cakes, they felt the pressure of their party and caved.

At least they each got to enjoy a party this year.  Too bad it wasn’t their own.

Next year I might just tell Greenleigh that her birthday is in March and Hazeline that her birthday is in April.  Maybe that will straighten the situation out.  But why stop there?  I maybe I’ll keep their birthdays flipped for a while.  It could cause long-term trauma when they realize what I did (surely I would have to confess their real birthdays by the time they hit driving age), but it would also make my life a ton easier.  Easy decision if you ask me.

Have you ever noticed that a siblings enjoy the party more than the birthday child?  Or have you ever had a party go on without the birthday child due to injury, illness, or unforeseen circumstances?  I would love for you to share your stories!