Birthdays

Anna got invited to her first birthday party yesterday. Well, technically it came to my email address, but it came from a college friend for the 1st birthday of her second child.

Perusing this invitation left me excited, confused, and contemplative. Excited because it seems that as a family we are now part of a more exclusive "club" now that we have a child. Before Anna was born, we were not invited to any previous parties for children (other than our nephew) - including this friend's daughter. But apparently, now that we have a child, we are on the invite list.

Not that I'm complaining. But it perplexes me how the entire atmosphere around us has changed since Anna came along. People are less likely to ask to hang out with us (some more, but mostly family who want to see the baby) because we are dead tired have a baby. Which I can understand to a point. But another group of people are eager to have us buy stuff for their kid spend time with us - other families with kids. Because apaprently popping a baby out of your hoohah qualifies you to hang out with them. Why? Because now we understand what it's like to have children? Because they didn't want to bother us with their child's antics?

Hmm. Something to keep an eye on.

Another thought struck me as I looked at the intricate digital invitation. In my line of work, we participate in birthday parties. While the price of the party covers our costs, it isn't cheap, but still lots of families have us come out every year -- some multiple times or several years in a row (we're THAT good). At some of these parties we are the main event, and some we are just part of a larger crowd. I once went to a party where we were present along with a clown making balloon animals, and a sketchy magician that no one wanted to go near. There was a giant distraction swingset in the backyard (I'm talking school playground sized here), as well as a built in bar and grill. These people were LOADED (and not just with cash). We managed to do our program and got a decent tip, but I've never been happier to turn my back on the chaos that was that party.

The kicker?

The birthday child was 3. Three years old.

Seriously? That kid can't even remember his birthdate, much less the memories of this party. Plus, what are you going to do next year? How do you top yourself year after year without going bankrupt? I spent every birthday at Salisbury Beach with my family and after the age of 3, never had a cake with just my name on it ever again (due to relatively close birthdays, there were at least 5 other names on the cake besides mine).

Ugh. I hope this party will at least be relatively low key. If not, at least Anna's too young to set high expectations for her birthday know the difference!