I hate to say it, but over the years I've been to too many parties where I, or the birthday child, has felt much like the chorus of Lesley Gore's old tune. I am therefore not the biggest fan of birthday parties.
For this Friday (which happens to be my birthday), tell us these five things about parties, birthday or otherwise.
1) Would you rather be the host or the guest? I'd rather be the guest. As an introvert, I sometimes find parties tough; and having them in my space can be even tougher. However, I am working on this; I think hospitality is important. Pleased to report that we had some friends over for dinner the other night...and it was great fun and not stressful at all.
2) When you are hosting, do you clean everything up the minute the guests go home? Will you accept help with the dishes? Depends on how beat I am. I'd prefer to get it all cleaned up but sometimes I throw in the towel. Nope, don't want help. Thanks. Go away now!
3) If you had the wherewithal, and I guess I mean more than money, to throw a great theme party, what would the theme be? Luau! Woohoo, let's roast a pig in the side yard!
4) What's the worst time you ever had at a party? Some friends threw a surprise party for me before I went to Europe for the first time (6 weeks in grad school). The person who'd agreed to keep me out of the house beforehand was sorry, I'm sure, because I wanted to go HOME. We ended up having a big argument and I stormed in...to hear, "SURPRISE!" I was so not in the mood. And I felt like a creep about it.
5) And to end on a brighter note, what was the best? I think I have to say a party in college when we all stayed on campus (rather than going home) over Thanksgiving 1985, because Texas A&M (my alma mater) was playing the University of Texas in College Station that day. (They used to do that game on Thanksgiving every year; not anymore). A bunch of our friends and neighbors got together and made the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We put together all the tables we had and stretched out sheets for tablecloths. The turkey was 22 lbs. - way too much! What a sense of freedom and adult-ness (ha, if I had only known!) and accomplishment. It was a great time.
