Smashing Success

Throwing a party is a risky thing, and I am all too aware of some of those risks. When I was in sixth grade, I had my first boy/girl party and I had invited Jess Warren, on whom I had a major crush. My excitement for him to come was only matched by the fear I felt that at my party he would meet and fall in love with my friend, Kim, who did not attend our school. Kim and I had been best friends through elementary school and she had always been the cuter and funner of the two of us. She had been the one the boys had always liked. So anyway, party time came and sure enough, Jess couldn’t get enough of Kim. I was heartbroken. This had been (and for several more years continued to be) the story of my life, you see, and I could almost not bear it. I remember leaving the party and going into my mom’s room to cry, and I remember my mom telling me that I needed to pull it together. It was horrible. Funny thing–I also remember that the next morning, I was cleaning with my mom and that song, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to” came on, so I took the opportunity to turn to my mom and say, “See, Mom. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.” (Just a side note–despite how this story might depict my mom, she has definitely always been my biggest supporter.)

And then there was the party that my brother threw after we had moved across town. He had been so excited to get his old group of friends together for a reunion, of sorts, but it ended up being the worst night of our lives up until that point. It was the weirdest thing. Nobody ate; nobody talked; nobody did anything except stare at the walls. I remember all of us kids and my mom hiding up in her room to escape the awkwardness that was rapidly permeating the entire downstairs. My mom kept saying that somebody had to go downstairs, and each of us would beg for it not to be us–including my brother. We swore we would never throw another party for as long as we lived, and it took a good many years for us to build the courage to try it again. Don’t worry too much, though, because there have been a few good parties throughout the years, too. Remember those New Year’s Eve breakfast parties, guys? Those were super fun. (Thanks, Mom) And Camp’s four friends were happy enough with the toilet paper game at his birthday party this year. So it all evened out.