Back to School and Birthdays

Our children are officially back in school. While I enjoy our summer breaks (well, I should say the kids have summer breaks because I don’t get two months off to lay around and watch TikTok or play Fortnite), I look forward to the routine again. Something else to celebrate this month? Birthdays! This month, we take a deep dive into helping you prepare for any upcoming celebrations you may have.

If you think about it, birthdays and back-to-school time are very similar occasions. They both happen once a year. You plan for the big day, go shopping, and get the decorations out, and you do all this hard work for such a small period of time. While birthday parties do last longer than the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the first day of school, it is over before you know it. I know I am always looking back after the party is over. Did I do enough? Did the kids have fun? What could I have done differently? And finally, how are you already 14 years old? Where has the time gone?

I know the children look forward to getting older each year, but if they only knew life won’t always be rainbows and sunshine when they graduate high school, move on to college, and then get a real job. 

I tell my daughter to slow her roll and to enjoy the days of no responsibilities because I miss my middle school days. Oh, to go back and hang out in the backyard of a friend’s house all day with the boombox playing, tanning and just laughing our butts off. I grew up in the generation before cell phones, so we had disposable cameras. I loved turning in all the cameras at the end of the summer and waiting to see what we did.

Our children are growing up faster these days. Just as one birthday ends, we often begin planning the next. Before we know it, they will be adults just like us and will take over the planning themselves. That’s something to think about! Until that happens, I am going to enjoy celebrating another year with them, planning parties, and being slightly envious of their summer breaks.