Birthday party
All in all it went well.
Twelve boys and three girls. The girls climbed a tree we had trimmed but left branch stubs on as ladder rungs. The boys went straight for our stash of swords, shields, light sabers, and wands. We had Mad Science come to do the entertainment. Our Mad Scientist this years was a former software engineer who was studying to become a therapist.
It’s always a nice to see the boy running around the yard with a bunch of kids. Most of the parents haven’t seen him since he moved to the other school for the rest of the semester, and they all had questions. Some asked more directly than others.
For me it was interesting that virtually every other boy exhibited what I’ve long thought of as my boy’s atypical behavior. I think the difference is that he sometimes takes longer to recover.
Beth was stressed, but now that it’s over we’re all relieved. Beth obsesses over preparation, but when it comes time to execution, I find I’m the one doing most of the child-herding. Somehow I’m able to channel my inner first grade teacher and give commands and find ways of keeping the kids focused. But it takes so much out of me.
I took the rented chairs back to the rental place, and went to my house. I rearranged the bedroom, fell into bed, and napped for a while. Beth called me on my cell phone to ask me to pick up some dinner.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I’m at my house,” I answered.
“That’s what I thought. Did you fall asleep?”
“Yeah. You woke me up.”
“Can you pick up Chinese food on your way home?”
If we can keep our future conversations this casual, it’ll be good.