Party Time

Celebrate life. A thousand years ago, my dad gave me a little yellow lapel pin with a red flower on it and in red printing were the words: Celebrate Life. What great advice!
Last week as our social worker and I were looking through old photographs together, I noticed how many pictures were taken at parties. Both the traditional birthday parties and the lesser known variety parties. Looking back, I am glad to say that in this household...we have truly enjoyed the time we have spent together.
Birthday celebrations quickly grew to such extremes, that we had to switch from holding a birthday party...to celebrating a birthday weekend. A kid party on a Friday or Saturday (often involving pizza, bowling, 10-20 girls overnight) and then a family party Sunday night. The kids are now on their own partying with their friends...and we still host the family dinner party on Sunday night. The birthday person still chooses the menu and dessert...and after the table is cleared, someone turns out the lights in the dining room and everyone waits in the dark, for the lighted cake to be brought in to be set in front of the honored guest. We all sing and as the celebrated person blows out the candles, we take a "fish face" photo of them. (Puckered lips.) There are a bunch of "Vanna White" pictures of birthday boys and girls posing with their new gifts...as we are a family of photo-hams.
The lesser known parties we have celebrated include; Tupperware Bingo, Bunko and Pajama Parties...yes, all Tupperware Parties. We have celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing only green clothing, eating green banquets (all food dyed green) and playing bingo...with green Dollar Store prizes. Not to mention a grand prize of a pile o' green one dollar bills! One of my favorite photos at a St. Patrick's Day party is of mom after she won a salad shaker basket. It was a green plastic mesh ball that was split in half with a hinge at the bottom and a handle on the top. You're supposed to put a washed head of lettuce in there and then swing it around to dry it off. Mom had not seen one before and asked "What is it?" When she opened it up...it resembled a Madonna style bra and as she held it up to her chest...posing like a pin-up...we got the picture!
Thanks to Mary, we also have Barbie's wedding photos. Everyone brought their own Barbie or Ken and we had to fill out interview cards so that Bride Barbie (Mary's Barbie) could choose one of us (well our Barbie) to be her maid of honor. Mary had made a real three tiered wedding cake and we all were part of the ceremony...I'm afraid the reception got out of hand though. Sometimes that happens. Mary has also hosted many tea parties for us. They always had a theme. There was the Queen's tea party which was served by a butler, a Sushi-Rollerskating Tea party where Mary and her co-hostess wore kimonos and full white face make-up and then we all went roller skating at Oaks Park after tea and sushi...and there was the Royal Cheesearian tea party/treasure hunt. (Mary's version of the Royal Rosarian tea and Rose Festival treasure hunt rolled into one...with a cheezy twist.) That was my favorite. We all dressed formally, Stephanie wearing my high shool orange homecoming dress...in honor of cheddar. Needless to say, she was drowning in it...which made it even funnier in the pictures. After tea, we divided into two teams. Mary gave us clues and the hunt was on. Each clue lead us to another...until we found the treasure. (A large trophy covered with jewels, and an orange cheese wedge on top. I'm not sure what that cheese wedge was made of...but it was a treasure to be sure!) Whoever found the trophy would be crowned (yes there was a real crown...also with jewels and a chunk of cheese on it) Queen of Cheesearia! The clues took us all over the neighborhood. Into parks, little neighborhood grocery stores, school play grounds...all over the neighborhood. Each team had a designated driver and then we were off. The last clue brought us back to the front yard of Mary's apartment building. We were looking all around for the treasure...when Steph decided to crawl into the bushes and search there...in my 20 year old homecoming dress! Shortly after entering the bushes, she emerged with the trophy! Mary wrapped her in an orange serape (courtesy of mom) and crowned her Queen of Cheesearia.
Another annual party was the First Day Of School Party. Mary dreamed it up one night as we were cleaning up after work. I had told her that Jennifer was dreading going back to school the next morning, because she was going to have a man teacher for the first time. It was scary to her...and Steph was feeding on that fear and decided she didn't want to go either. Not that she was going to have a man teacher...but she was going into the 2nd grade...and that's when they really crack down on the kids and make them work all day long. (So she heard.) I was not looking forward to getting them up in the morning. Mary decided that we should make a midnight run to Winco and buy them first day of school gifts, candy and a cake...balloons and streamers, party hats and noise makers. It was a lot of fun. We loaded up on non-essential school supplies (locker mirrors, new hair clips, funny pencils, fruit snacks etc.) and got all the party food and decorations. We went all out with the balloons and streamers, tossed confetti everywhere and spent several hours wrapping all of the little gifts. At 5:00 in the morning, we covered the table with the gifts and individually wrapped pieces of bulk candy. We woke mom and the girls at 6:00 and brought them into the kitchen to be greeted by the best breakfast ever. Cake and ice cream! After presents were opened and breakfast was enjoyed, the girls put on their new school outfits and their first day of school was a great success. That party was held every year...until a few years ago. The last one was when Stephanie began her last year of Beauty School. It evolved a little over time. But the celebrating continued.
There are photos of beach parties and birthday picnics...sometimes in the rain. No one looks unhappy about the weather...we just huddled up under blankets...turning them into makeshift tents.
I guess the lesson here is: Enjoy the people you are with while you have the chance, celebrate both the big and the little moments. Life doesn't always go the way we hope...but it always should be celebrated. Oh...and take lots of pictures!