Eternal optimism
Recently, I had the honour of attending my granddad’s 90th birthday party, a true celebration of how men who don’t vape can grind it out. Our son, our cherub, had to be there to attend his great-granddad’s birthday party. In our mind, it would be a 2-3 hour party; we would meet family we hadn’t seen in a while, kiddo would play with his cousins, nibble, maybe get a little giddy, and then we would leave. Everyone would be happy.
Insta vs reality…
As we arrived early, we morphed into the welcoming committee, shaking hands and coordinating where people needed to be. Within 5 minutes of the first guests arriving, our son was given a five-pack of chocolate bars, which he instantly ripped open and devoured. Joys. My wife and I have an ongoing “debate” as to whether he should have sugar or not. I am in the less is more camp. As the party continued and more of my nieces and nephews turned up, and as the Lindt balls started disappearing, I could feel the energy in the air increase.
You can probably see where this concoction of happiness is going…Turns out – the party was going to go on for 6 hours. This meant that for a VERY large proportion of the party that I wanted to enjoy, speaking to family and mainly my grandad was consumed by the following:
- Chasing after kiddo
- Shouting
- “Don’t touch that.”
- “Put it down.”
- “Put him down.”
- “Please don’t hug your cousin that tightly; she doesn’t like it.”
- “Don’t scratch him!”
- “Stop shouting!!”
- “Please play nicely, or I will have to take <insert object here> it away from everyone.”
Maybe you are rubbish at parenting? I’m better.
Yes, you might be, BUT the point I am making is that no matter how good your child is at home or in any other environment. A family event seems to change children in a very different way. Your child will morph into something you don’t fully recognise; frustrations will increase, and, more importantly, you will not enjoy the event you intended.
You were once a child…
I was, and I have to think deeply and remember…and I remember those feelings. What, as an adult, I didn’t get any life lessons on – was the simple guidance: Unless you have the child that sits in the corner quietly drawing pictures, they are probably going to be a pain in the bum, and you aren’t going to enjoy your event, and you will return home 3x more tired than the dreams you have when you are in the woods being chased.
