Birthday Prep
Madeleine has her birthday party this afternoon and invites all boys and Camilla, who is a brave sole, God bless her. Madeleine too excited to eat lunch, pictured, and waits for her guests by the dining room window, through the curtains. The lads descend upon us and, bam!, it is an indoor hurricane. Fortunately Sonnet prepared - treasure hunt! - and the children group into Pirates and Buccanneers. Each's captain responsible for reading clues spread around the neighborhood. It works, too, as the kids race ahead with us screaming after them to stay on the sidewalk and etc. My group is Eitan, Alex, Billy, Ewen and Nathaniel who drive hard - their curiosity reminds me of a kennel of bloodhounds - no hiding place untouched nor porch unexamined.
We come together at the common and their hard work rewarded with crisps, chocolate lollies and other various drugs. Personally I wonder how I ever ate such crap - soury chewy strips or sugary florescent gum drops. Powder sugar in various flavas. In my day it was a honourable chocolate caramel 'Reggie' named after the NY Yankees star who homered thrice in the '77 World Series. Or the hefty 'Marathon Bar' and singular 'Now And Laters." Yes, we ate them now and later.
Back home, pizza arrives and the kids .. freak out. One forgets the work involved with eight-year olds. They .. cannot... sit .. still. From outside to inside and upstairs and again. The birthday cake fuels their frenzy and I worry about injury but, hey, this probably unnecessary since the animals seem quite comfortable knocking off the wall or falling on the ground. Every now and then I scream at their screaming (Madeleine: "You know, Dad, you can be louder then us."). I guess my stream of thought that eight year olds are generally the same between them and across generations. I know I lost sleep the night before my eighth birthday party. And I remember the over-nights like yesterday, which Madeleine does tonight with a Chosen four. And of course, the parent - whoever hosting - yelled bloody murder at some point. Same as it ever was.
All: "who likes brussel sprouts? Who likes pizza? Who likes brocolli? Who likes aubergine?"
Madeleine: "Aubergine? That's disgusting!"
Me: "I've got some in the fridge - any takers?"
The afternoon party.
Me: "No walking on the pond!"
Me: "Get out of the mud!"
Me: "Keep your pants on!"
Me: "You are not allowed to say those words!"
Me: "Stay out of the street!"
Me: "No jumping from the bed!"
Me: "Leave the poor hamster alone!"
Me: "Take that pizza out of your hair!"
Eitan: "Dad, why do you always stop us from having fun?"
