I suggested to Tabitha she have a birthday party this year.  She hasn’t had a party since she was 10.  And between Covid and moving she has done pretty close to nothing the last three years.  She hesitated. That would mean revealing the time of year she has a birthday… but in the end her friend Melody and I were able to convince her it would be fun. 

So we did what all normal people do – we vacuumed the back patio.
Now – to be clear – we’ve had very few gatherings since moving in here.
And to say we needed to scale back is putting it mildly.

There would be none of this:

’

or this:

or this:

or this:

LORD have mercy, I miss my yard, driveway, and private property!

What did have was this:

Which made this:

It only took Melody, Johanna, and I three hours to assemble.

Melody had lights.

And we borrowed ladder ball and corn hole.  And Melody had a fog machine, and they made a dance floor. 

And some kids had fun loud fun, and some seemed quieter. 

And my girl said she had fun.

And I still don’t have a great photo of her and Melody!

She arrived on Easter evening all those years ago.  And her birthday fell on a Sunday again this year, too.  We’d had a very busy weekend and she declined a birthday meal. 

Gifts were sparse, but joy inducing.

Though she didn’t request any special meal, we all decided she should have pizza for an early dinner.  Her sweet friend Melody arrived in time for some molten lava cake.

After that, Tab and Mel headed off for a double dose of youth groups.

That’s a thing around here, to be honest.  A lot of kids seem to visit more than one fellowship.  Since they often have friends at other congregations, it seems to work. 

She likes her birthday to be low-key… but this was a little lower-key than I anticipated. 

I love all my kids from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, but let me tell you, SEVENTEEN HAD BETTER BE A BETTER YEAR THAN SIXTEEN WAS!!!!   She just needs to catch a break somewhere.