Parties and Presents

Being new to the school circuit also means being new to the party circuit.

Not that we haven’t had, or been to, child birthday parties before, but they’d previously all been with or hosted by people-who-were-our-friends. In other words, people we know pretty well, and whose tastes we know, and know our tastes.

This school friend thing is a whole new beast.

It was, I confess, intimidating. We ended up with more kids than I’d have preferred, but I am thankful that it’s because our daughter loves her school, and loves her classmates. I was nervous about the kids getting bored, and the parents having to wrangle anxious children, but I am thankful that I didn’t have to worry about the parents’ opinions of n having two moms.

But what I was, perhaps, most nervous about, was presents. Do we request none? Do we make some sort of caveat? If we get them, will they be overly pink? Loud and obnoxious? With friends who know us, we can generally assume they’ll know what kind of presents we’re okay with and what we’re not.

Luckily, we needn’t have been nervous. We’ve found for ourselves a community in which we’re welcome and accepted, and where, at least thus far, our daughter is loved and accepted for the things she enjoys. While there were one or two of the more girly items, the rest were in the theme of the party, and she couldn’t have been happier.

I know it won’t always be so easy, and that it’s easier for people not to genderize when it’s a three year old than when it’s a 6 year old or a 12 year old. And I know that (likely) somewhere down the line, our daughter will be asking for those pink and girly things, as opposed to the pirate things. But for now, I’m thankful for those around us who are okay with our family, in all its shapes and forms.