Barricade
Sadly, I was in no condition to write yesterday. Which means that I am about to be barricaded at my work space for the next 8 hours pounding out the Polity take-home exam. More tedious than difficult… I’m still smarting from the last exam. Historians can be so… picky!
So, yesterday I tackled the other pending reality (read fiasco) in my life: party for the little man. He is turning seven (yes, I was a teenage mother… heh) and frankly, I think I deserve a party for making it this far. But alas, I doubt anyone is going to be bringing me presents for surviving 2800 days of parenthood. (I can hear it now, all the J’s out there are saying, but seven years is only 2555 days! Yes, well, you trying puking on the hour every hour during the first half of your pregnancy and see if you don’t count those days too!) So, a party for the little man it is.
I called the bowling ally first. If you are going to be in charge of 10 kids for two hours you might as well keep them busy, right? Why not arm them with miniature cannon balls and let them loose? However, it turns out that the day after Thanksgiving is National Drop the Kids off to Bowl While I go Shopping Day, here in the US and getting someone to talk to me was no simple chore. After three phone calls and no real help I pulled out my secret weapon. (have you noticed all the violent imagery I’ve been using? hmmm…) Yep, I put IZ on the phone. He lasted 45 seconds. Flat. He did manage to get vital information from the bowling ally, however. Hang on to your wallet, this gets good. As it turns out, to let 10 kids bowl for two hours it costs a mere $240. American. GASP. Now, with that you get a table to put all the food you bring in. And shoes. That’s it. Needless to say, the Bowling Ally just rolled a gutter ball.
At this point, you are probably wondering why not have a party at home. That would be oh so feasible if Little Man’s birthday was say… May. They could play outside, eat Ice cream… have a water balloon fight. Pinata… the works. But since the little bugger decided to be early and come three days before Christmas, this parent has to be far more clever. If you throw a party after school lets out… no one comes. Evidently, people celebrate Christmas around here. Who knew. As well, our tiny Seminary house hardly holds the three of us, so… no indoor party here. And then there is the little matter of finals for me–I can either plan and throw a party or take exams. Trust me, I’d rather party. Which leaves us with little choice but to hold this shin-dig off site. And that raises the issue of just where.
I guess what gets me most is I’m hardly cheap. I’m not loaded with cash… but I’ll spend when I can. To take my kid bowling at any other time is under $7. I’ve always wondered how those businesses stay in business. The answer is: desperate parents. You want to throw a party in Marin, be prepared to be held hostage! It’s not just the houses in Marin that are over-inflated. Evidently, the price of bumper bowling is too!
So, we are on to plan two. We found a place. Same money, but the kids at least get cake and balloons and they get to paint and make art work. I don’t have to do anything but mail out invitations (done) and show up and supervise. It’s worth all the money in the world to see the kid happy on his big day…or, so I’m going to tell myself when the Visa bill comes in.
