It's hard to get anything past this kid. He's a little too much like his mom. In many ways. The big 18 loomed, and we were faced with the fact that older brother would be away at college and two good friends would be out of state on vacation. No birthday day celebrating. Andrew could not even get a little excited about his big day without his 3 main side kicks.
So, introduction of Plan B. And Plan B mushroomed. Once we had those 3 on board, we got the creative idea to blow it all out into a big party, a surprise party, a surprise birthday party, the likes of which this kid hasn't seen in a few years.
I honestly think the last time he had a birthday party was in the 6th grade. And I'm not gonna' lie. I've had serious mom guilt about it. But, to my point, he is like his mom and has not wanted a party. So, against all wishes I knew he would have, hubby and I set out to mastermind an 18th birthday party bash, albeit a party one week before his birthday. Which I knew would bother him. Like it would bother his mom. But, having it early was in our favor since it would be totally unexpected.
Hubby worked with the pastor at church, Bo, who worked with the kids from church and it looked like we were going to pull this thing off. We waffled a little bit on what exactly to do with a house full of boys, and we waffled a bit on whether or not to get a birthday cake. We knew good teenage boy food was key and that cake would good - and we knew we could figure out some kind of after dinner event that would make Andrew smile. I just felt it would all come together.
And come together it did. All the boys showed up on time. Bo had commandeered Andrew to come over to work on some things...and then blindfolded Andrew and promptly drive him back home. Hubby got home with the Pluckers wings and the birthday cake. I printed off an X-men image to decorate the cake. Was it actually going to come off without a hitch?
Sure enough, Bo got Andrew there and through the doorway before Andrew knew where he was. And when he walked through the door and saw everyone, his face lit up like a Christmas tree! Score! The kid who didn't ever want a party could actually have a party and enjoy it! Wings, chips and queso were devoured, the cake was enjoyed, gifts were fun, all amidst typical teenage boy teasing and conversation.
They laughed and cut-up and were genuinely having a great time. Almost all of them opted to head out to see The Wolverine movie with my guys. The party was the perfect way to celebrate his big day. It was an added bonus that the teen boy movie d'jour was actually an X-Men movie.
But beyond the obvious success of the evening, I saw the real gift of the evening. 12 young men came into our home and celebrated my somewhat introverted son. My son that gives of himself and never asks anything in return.
You see, my comic book kid is full of surprises and he regularly entertains us with his own comedic banter, his quick retorts, his deep ability to empathize, his rapier sharp wit. And he is my super hero. Because he can do all of that with a skip in his step and a smile as big as Dallas on his face. Kapow. Bam. Wow.
Surprise ~ Andrew's 18th ~ August 2013
So, introduction of Plan B. And Plan B mushroomed. Once we had those 3 on board, we got the creative idea to blow it all out into a big party, a surprise party, a surprise birthday party, the likes of which this kid hasn't seen in a few years.
I honestly think the last time he had a birthday party was in the 6th grade. And I'm not gonna' lie. I've had serious mom guilt about it. But, to my point, he is like his mom and has not wanted a party. So, against all wishes I knew he would have, hubby and I set out to mastermind an 18th birthday party bash, albeit a party one week before his birthday. Which I knew would bother him. Like it would bother his mom. But, having it early was in our favor since it would be totally unexpected.
Hubby worked with the pastor at church, Bo, who worked with the kids from church and it looked like we were going to pull this thing off. We waffled a little bit on what exactly to do with a house full of boys, and we waffled a bit on whether or not to get a birthday cake. We knew good teenage boy food was key and that cake would good - and we knew we could figure out some kind of after dinner event that would make Andrew smile. I just felt it would all come together.
And come together it did. All the boys showed up on time. Bo had commandeered Andrew to come over to work on some things...and then blindfolded Andrew and promptly drive him back home. Hubby got home with the Pluckers wings and the birthday cake. I printed off an X-men image to decorate the cake. Was it actually going to come off without a hitch?
Sure enough, Bo got Andrew there and through the doorway before Andrew knew where he was. And when he walked through the door and saw everyone, his face lit up like a Christmas tree! Score! The kid who didn't ever want a party could actually have a party and enjoy it! Wings, chips and queso were devoured, the cake was enjoyed, gifts were fun, all amidst typical teenage boy teasing and conversation.
They laughed and cut-up and were genuinely having a great time. Almost all of them opted to head out to see The Wolverine movie with my guys. The party was the perfect way to celebrate his big day. It was an added bonus that the teen boy movie d'jour was actually an X-Men movie.
But beyond the obvious success of the evening, I saw the real gift of the evening. 12 young men came into our home and celebrated my somewhat introverted son. My son that gives of himself and never asks anything in return.
You see, my comic book kid is full of surprises and he regularly entertains us with his own comedic banter, his quick retorts, his deep ability to empathize, his rapier sharp wit. And he is my super hero. Because he can do all of that with a skip in his step and a smile as big as Dallas on his face. Kapow. Bam. Wow.
Surprise ~ Andrew's 18th ~ August 2013
Sketch Credit: Scrapbook Generation http://scrapbookgeneration.blogspot.com
Paper: Simple Stories
Font: BD Cartoon Shout
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