We had a wonderful party for Liam’s second birthday. We had a selection of friends from various groups – a very few of my expat friends and their kids and some of their partners, a couple of our neighbours who are becoming friends and their kids, Ivo’s family and some of his friends – none of whom have kids (at least of those who came, there are a few who do). It was a fairly big group for our little place but it worked well – any more would have been too many! I really hadn’t expected so many presents and felt overwhelmed by it all, especially since Liam couldn’t open all of them and I lost track of who brought what, since mostly I didn’t see since I was busy getting all the food out and talking to people.
It’s funny, before I had Liam, I really had no experience with kids so I really only know about kids up until whatever age Liam has reached. I don’t know how older kids are, not how they grow or what’s normal in kid groups or anything like that. It’s a bit of a discovery process for me but it makes me feel woefully unprepared for things like kids birthday parties. Should I have opened presents as people arrived? I vaguely remember them all being done together at parties when I was younger, but of course I don’t remember parties from this age group, not that our nomadic live really made them possible when I was this age. And then there’s cultural things – Ivo assured me that goodie bags aren’t Dutch when I belatedly panicked thought about not having them, but I’m not sure he knows that really anyway, since his experience would be even less than mine. I really don’t know.
It does make me realize how much parenting, and learning to socialize as a parent, is really such a learning process, and how parents are often just figuring it out as they go, despite their kids’ assumption that they know it all (at least until they hit puberty). I remember figuring that out earlier as I hit the ages my parents were when they had me (they were 23 and 21) and starting to realize that they had no clue until I came along either, and that especially with me, the oldest, they were making it up as they went – and that that’s normal. That’s when I started seeing them as more human and understanding what it could have been like. But that was on a theoretical level – having a kid of your own really, really brings that home. I wonder how long my kids will go before they figure it out and forgive me for whatever errors I’ll make.
Anyway, despite all my worryings, it was a wonderful party with a great energy and we really appreciated the company of all who were there and feel lucky to know so many cool people. Many pictures were taken – none by me – and these are in the album linked here and through clicking the picture below. The B&W pictures and the one of the three of us outside were taken by Kerryanne. The ones with the date on them were taken by Leo and the rest by Marijke with my camera.
