Jack is now officially 10 years old. Time has slipped up on us and takes us by surprise. Jack's birthday party was this evening... and it was a good party. It was a space and NASA theme this year. Freeze-dried ice cream, earth bouncy balls and NASA pencils. An autographed picture of Story Musgrave and the Hubble taken in space, a NASA flight jacket, and a really cool pen that writes upside down and underwater. Five little boys, a little brother, a little sister, and a college student appeared to celebrate Jack's 10th birthday party. It was a good one - ending with "real" fireworks, sparklers and space shuttle goodie bags. I was fully engaged because I know it is probably going to be the last real party my little boy lets me have for him. And that is a HUGE break with tradition!
Jacks birthday parties have always been epic. It all started just after he was born. After losing two babies to miscarriage and our daughter to stillbirth, Jack was a much wanted child - planned for and beloved before he even made his entrance to the world, via c-section at 11:12 a.m. on a blissfully happy Saturday morning. He weighed in at 9 pounds and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. His eyes were navy blue for exactly three days before turning dark brown. His black hair covered his head, curling around the edges almost imperceptibly. He was simply the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.
I could not wait to celebrate - we had a "welcome to the world" party when he was a month old. Friends, family, and neighbors piled into my parents house to celebrate Jack's birth. He was carried, cooed over, cherished, and kissed by everyone in our community. His little sleepy head graced the shoulders of every important person in my life - my mom and dad; my grandmother (his great-grandmother); my dear friend Dot-Dot who taught me about Berea society and beautiful flowers; my aunt Martha who was probably happier for me than anyone; and my friends who knew how badly I needed Jack in my life.
When Jack turned 1-year-old, I was a completely psycho party-planner from hell. I had no idea what I was doing but I managed to bake him a cake with a rubber ducky swimming in a pool, decorating it with gel icing and colored vanilla wafers. I created complicated games for the kids in attendance and created labels for the bubbles I handed out as party favors. Jack celebrated his first year with chocolate cake and balloons, and took his first step on his own the next day.
Jack's second birthday was more intimate, with a butterfly and dragon-fly theme. Close friends and family marked the day with balloons and cake. Then I found Oriental Trading and I have never been the same. For example, the third birthday was a luau and it was probably the biggest party I have ever thrown in my life! There were people there that we didn't even know, but they brought presents. Jack was walking around in a captain's hat, with his little face bright with excitement. It was really amazing. I had a tiki totem pole, flamingo toss, hula dance-off and grass skirts and leis for party favors. There were more than 30 kids there. Two pineapple upside down cakes were demolished in less than 8 minutes. Jay and I didn't even get a piece.
Jack's fourth birthday got complicated. It was a knights and dragons theme, with a hidden grail for party-goers to find. There was tube jousting and relay races. It was very medieval. The last birthday party held at my folks house was the pirate party! It was an awesome bash - Jay dressed up like a pirate with his long-hair, moustache, and fake earring, wearing my ancient purple shirt and a black scarf around his waist. He was gorgeous! He even made a treasure chest which I filled with fake jewel rings and fake gold doubloons (gotta love Oriental Trading). I used treasure maps to create an elaborate scavenger hunt that the kids had to solve clues to get to the next riddle. At the end, they dug up the treasure chest filled with treasure. Each kid was decked out in a bandanna, fake moustache, fake earring, pirate hat and sword. It was amazing!
The sixth birthday party was jets. There was a plane pinata and lots of good food. Kids were running around like crazy, in and out, parents were sitting on the porches enjoying the fall weather. It was the first birthday party in our new home.
The seventh birthday party was 007 - spies, spies and more spies! After watching a birthday party trailer filled with Sean Connery and I Spy clips, the kids were sent off on a clue-filled adventure, starting with a taped recording that was set to self-destruct and bubble machines. There was even a video clue to guide the kids to the last riddle. Jay and I put the whole party together - masterminding the goody bag hunt and moving seamlessly through one activity to the next. When the kids finally found the goody bags the party was over. The kids wanted more and asked me what was going to be next year's theme??
There is such a thing as believing your own hype. There is a movie called the Great White Hype with Samuel L. Jackson, Damon Waynans, and Jeff Goldblum. It's a great movie about what happens when you start believing your own bull&^%#. Suffice it to say -I believed hook, line and sinker. And from this blindness - the Mythbusters party was borne.
Our family has always loved Mythbusters so we decided to go with that as our theme. It was the best party ever... we blew up diet coke with mentos, used pop rocks and a soda to blow up a balloon, made root beer, created marshmallow towers, and made volcanoes that we promptly blew up out of play-doh, baking soda and vinegar. Party-goers got lessons on basic science throughout the party and everyone got a make your own science experiment kit at the end. It was an awesome event - still talked about to this day by Jack's friends and their moms. It was the best party ever and it came off without a hitch. When the last guest left, my hubby looked at me and said how are you going to top this? I looked at him and said two words - I can't. It was perfect!
As fate would have it, I didn't have to try for Jack's 9th birthday. We did celebrate with gifts, but due to being broke since Jay was out of a job, it was either gifts or a party. Jack chose gifts. I think somewhere in the back of his mind he thought we would still create a bash for him to be the center of. When it didn't happen, he let me know that we HAD to have a party for his 10th! He couldn't stand not having his friends over to celebrate. And to be honest, neither could I. I have never felt more disappointed in myself before - not being able to keep the tradition. It was the first time I wasn't able to give him what he wanted and it was a hard lesson. I wanted to make sure the 10th birthday would rock!
So tonight's bash came and went, no one was injured and although there was a bad cat scratch, no one bled inordinately. It was good, but it didn't match the muster of the Mythbusters party. He's a tween now and this was probably the last hurrah as his thoughts are going to turn to other things soon enough, like girls, independence, and being cool. But for now, I will cherish his loving nature and take my hugs and kisses when he gives them freely. I know I will have to fight him for them soon enough.
