Thursday, September 1, 2011

Thoughts on turning the big 0-1


{just for you thursday}

Welcome my sister who always has the right answers. She has graciously allowed for time in her busy schedule to weekly post on the blog. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section. Yours could get answered in a future post. read along...
We are preparing for my youngest son's first birthday party. 

By preparing I mean that Oh, Goodie Designs is planning the event and I am dealing with the emotions of my baby reaching one of his first milestones.  As cliché as it sounds, this year of Charlie’s life has flown by. 
 
I am always amazed at how the parents of the birthday child handle the party.  It seems as though they (we) fall into 3 categories:
1.       The over-preparer.  Of course we all want a memorable party and fabulous pictures for the baby book.   This parent takes it to a whole other level by having the favors bagged and bowed with enough time for the goodie bags to become stale and dusty. 
2.       The under-preparer.  This is the parent who, at the last minute, wants a detailed, themed and unique party, while only allowing enough time to pick up plates and napkins at the grocery store.
3.       The emotional-preparer.  This parent focuses their time and energy reliving moments from the child’s first year of life and wondering how to capture the magnitude of the event in a party atmosphere. 
Some of us are a combination of all three.  Luckily for me, I have a sister who throws amazing parties so I can busy myself reliving the moments of Charlie’s first year. 
These are all coping strategies to deal with the emotions that celebrating a first birthday can bring.  The family remembers the pregnancy, birth and all of the firsts that happened along the way.  It is also a time to reflect on other changes that have occurred in the last year.  Coping strategies are necessary and helpful.  And when they are most effective, they allow us to be present in the moment of the event with our expectations and emotions in check.
 
I’ll let you know how it goes at the party on Sunday.


:)

2 comments:

  1. try sixteen as in sweet but not so sweet in two weeks

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  2. Ahhh. Good luck! My youngest turned 1 in May. It is always so bitter sweet. I had been planning the party since before he was born but ended up scrapping half of my ideas because I was so overwhelmed with emotion. I thought "If I don't actually make these party favors then he won't REALLY turn one." LOL

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