Sweet Sixteen Preparations
My daughter, in all her adolescent wisdom has decided she wants to have a sleepover for her birthday party this year.
She caught me at a weak moment. I mean, this time last year, she didn't even want a party. Yes, sleepovers are a lot of work, but I consider this progress.
So I said, "OK."
She wants to invite the kids from her therapy group, which is no great shock. The five of them have been meeting for almost a year now, and besides being close, they are all comfortable with and trust one another. She also invited a couple of kids from families we're friendly with. Fine, fine.
We talked a bit about inviting a couple of kids from the new school, but mostly vetoed that. It was more a matter of logistics than like/dislike. I only have so much seating, and there is a finite number of folks I can cram in my house before things start feeling a little crowded.
Plus, I also have to wonder where these kids are going to sleep. I could bed down quite a few elementary school age kids in the living room, no problem. Teenagers take up a bit more space.
Oh, and did I mention my dad is coming up to visit for her birthday weekend? (Not the next week which is Spring Break and would have made infinitely more sense.) *Sigh* I hope we manage to make it through the weekend without him getting his feelings hurt, because I figure my daughter's focus is going to be on her party.
But I digress.
Back to the party, she decided to have a "school" thing later on, and for now, she's just inviting one kid in particular to the birthday party. Everything would have been rosy except this kid happens to be male.
So my daughter and this boy met at the mall today--whether this was hanging out or an actual "date" is still unclear. They went and stood in line for Subway sandwiches, while I sat with this kid's stepfather trying to say all the right reassuring things.
Yeah. Just between you and me, the daughter unit owes me. Big time. If there's one thing I despise it's trying to defend myself to someone who's already decided my plans sound odd, and they aren't sure they approve or want their kid exposed to this insanity. We talked about the guest list, the sleeping arrangements, the activities, and the length of the party among other things.
I suppose I could call the meeting a partial victory. The stepfather was a nice enough fellow, and I worked very hard to convince him that his son would be all right, but he struck me as having very rigid ideas of what is and is not proper. The boy will be allowed to attend the party, but won't be allowed to stay the night. My daughter is a little disappointed, but not all that surprised, and he's not the only kid who might not be staying the night. Besides, the fewer overnighters I have to deal with, the easier it will be for me. The house is still in renovation hell and I lobbied for a more normal party--something held away from the house preferably--but she really wants this darn sleepover. :-) Here's hoping everything works out.
She caught me at a weak moment. I mean, this time last year, she didn't even want a party. Yes, sleepovers are a lot of work, but I consider this progress.
So I said, "OK."
She wants to invite the kids from her therapy group, which is no great shock. The five of them have been meeting for almost a year now, and besides being close, they are all comfortable with and trust one another. She also invited a couple of kids from families we're friendly with. Fine, fine.
We talked a bit about inviting a couple of kids from the new school, but mostly vetoed that. It was more a matter of logistics than like/dislike. I only have so much seating, and there is a finite number of folks I can cram in my house before things start feeling a little crowded.
Plus, I also have to wonder where these kids are going to sleep. I could bed down quite a few elementary school age kids in the living room, no problem. Teenagers take up a bit more space.
Oh, and did I mention my dad is coming up to visit for her birthday weekend? (Not the next week which is Spring Break and would have made infinitely more sense.) *Sigh* I hope we manage to make it through the weekend without him getting his feelings hurt, because I figure my daughter's focus is going to be on her party.
But I digress.
Back to the party, she decided to have a "school" thing later on, and for now, she's just inviting one kid in particular to the birthday party. Everything would have been rosy except this kid happens to be male.
So my daughter and this boy met at the mall today--whether this was hanging out or an actual "date" is still unclear. They went and stood in line for Subway sandwiches, while I sat with this kid's stepfather trying to say all the right reassuring things.
Yeah. Just between you and me, the daughter unit owes me. Big time. If there's one thing I despise it's trying to defend myself to someone who's already decided my plans sound odd, and they aren't sure they approve or want their kid exposed to this insanity. We talked about the guest list, the sleeping arrangements, the activities, and the length of the party among other things.
I suppose I could call the meeting a partial victory. The stepfather was a nice enough fellow, and I worked very hard to convince him that his son would be all right, but he struck me as having very rigid ideas of what is and is not proper. The boy will be allowed to attend the party, but won't be allowed to stay the night. My daughter is a little disappointed, but not all that surprised, and he's not the only kid who might not be staying the night. Besides, the fewer overnighters I have to deal with, the easier it will be for me. The house is still in renovation hell and I lobbied for a more normal party--something held away from the house preferably--but she really wants this darn sleepover. :-) Here's hoping everything works out.