Thursday, January 05, 2006

party with the one (or ones) you love

Yesterday, my kids and I organised a party for Fatty. On the back deck, we wound coloured streamers along the rails, and hung them from the rafters of the roof. We blew up a few balloons and tied them here and there. We scurried about to straighten up the house. I cooked supermarket pizzas to eat with salad; I opened a bottle of wine. The kids helped me bake a chocolate cake, too (aided and abetted by Betty Crocker). So you may be wondering what the occasion was.... a birthday? An anniversary maybe? The celebration of a new job? Hey, was it to celebrate an unexpected pregnancy??? (um, no, no, no and NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!) There was no special occasion. As I said to Fatty on the card I gave him...welcome to your We Love You party!

Now, for anyone here who is clutching their throats and making retching, gagging noises....I am not some sycophantic wife, always cloyingly sweet and loving. Far from it. I am quite regularly grumpy, unappreciative, demanding and snappy. And our marriage is no peachy picnic of connubial bliss. It's a real marriage, with the usual ups and downs. But thank heavens we have our kids, because the whole party idea started with them, and their enthusiasm swept me along until we ended up having a celebration to be remembered.

It began in a cut-price bookstore. Ben spotted a book on birdwatching, and crowed, " Look, a bird book! I bet Daddy would like that!". I had a gander, and was inclined to agree. Laura chirped excitedly, "We could wrap it up, and give it to him when he gets home!".

"OK", I agreed, " and we could have something nice for dinner, too".

"PIZZA!!!!" my offspring screeched in unison. ('Hmm, I guess we're having pizza then', I thought to myself)

Laura wanted decorations, and did most of this job. The present was wrapped in a messy kid-done way; I resisted the urge to show them how to make it neater. It was fine.
I found a card to write in, and both kids made their cards. Ben was disappointed that the smiley face he drew looked sad (but was heartened by the fact that it looked happy if you turned the card upside down)
I set the table with a tablecloth and our 'good' plates. The 3 cards perched atop the gift, in the centre of the table.

Fatty looked really chuffed when he got home to see the deck all 'beautiful', and when he read the cards. The book he seemed to like, too, but he had the widest smile after reading what we each wrote to him (well, I of course had to take dictation for Ben's card). It made me wonder why I'd never done anything like this before. I mean, I've made a fuss over our anniversary, organised birthday gatherings, purchased Christmas surprises.... but never have I given him a party just because he is a good man.

Maybe you're still thinking this all sounds silly. I guess it was silly. But it was fun, and it was worth it just to see the pleasure on Fatty's face.

So I'm just putting the idea out there....there could be someone you love who would be thrillled to have a We Love You party held in their honour!!

12 comments:

John Cowart said...

Great idea!

When Ginny got her hearing aids recently, our kids threw her a WHAT? Party where she was the only one not asking "What?"

Few planned parties feel as good as a spontaneous pizza and video night... I wonder why we don't do that more often.

Unimum209 said...

I love your idea of a party - just because! it is awesome and I am definantly going to plan one (not too spontaneous I suppose!!) with the kids right away. I think my husband gets the raw end of the stick so often putting up with my somewhat endless study, and the stresses of 2 small kids, not to mention his ever evolving, oh so stressfull job - yep he definantly needs a we love you party!!!!

Motherkitty said...

Your kids are geniuses. As adults we should most certainly take our children's lead from time to time because they are so ingenuous.

Everyone appreciates being told they are loved and what better way than to host an impromptu party out on the back deck.

I'm glad your family had such a nice time, and I'm sure the supermarket pizza tasted like homemade to Fatty.

Anonymous said...

I think that is a wonderful Idea!

Alice said...

I bet your kids enjoyed it even more than Fatty did. They will remember forever the day they threw a party for Daddy, just 'cos they love him. Good on you for being so ready to join in the fun with them. I'm so glad you all had a great time, and I'm sure Fatty feels 10 feet tall today.

Michelle said...

Good on you!! Kids have the so many great ideas....we really should go along with them more often!!!

Unknown said...

Hi! Just found your blog, and wanted to say what a great idea this is. Everyone should be reminded they are loved once in a while :)

Mackey said...

THat is so sweet!!!! What a lucky hubby you have.

Heather said...

It wasn't silly. It was touching. I am glad you made time for such a fun thing!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Spontaneity is the spice of life and unplanned events are always the most fun.

Susan Tidwell said...

Wow, Jelly, I like this new you in the new year! New pink blog, new attitude! You GO GIRL!!!

Moogie said...

Wow! What a fantastic idea. I love it. What a wonderful family you have.