The Little Party Planner

While it's anyone's guess what profession children will choose to go into when they grow up, it is interesting to see their interests and talents develop at a young age.  Olivia has a natural talent, which she's shown from a very young age.

She likes to party.  Or more to the point, she likes to plan parties.  She's always thinking of reasons to invite her classmates and friends over and hatches elaborate plans on a weekly basis.

Her memory is very good, and anytime there's a vague promise of a party, she will never forget.  Her grandmother has been caught numerous times when over the phone she'll promise Olivia that they'll go a party place when she visits.  Sure enough, Olivia will dutifully remind Granna of the party, even if it's nearly a year later.

One time, Olivia planned for weeks to invite her best friend to her home.  With the help of Daddy, she listed nearly 30 things that needed to be done to prepare.  Everything from doing laundry and cleaning the house, to ordering the cake, decorating and even writing out all the activities to do at the party.  The party still hasn't taken place yet, but the list is still posted on the door.

But the most memorable 'near-party' Olivia had was when she was three years old. Olivia decided that she wanted to have a birthday party, even though her birthday had already passed.  She talked about it for weeks and even set a date for it.  We tried to explain to her that it wasn't time for her birthday but that didn't seem to matter.

As the date approached, we had hoped she'd lost interest and forget but instead her planning activities heated up. She had been talking to her little friends in daycare about the upcoming party, handing out 'invitations' even though she couldn't write.  She even talked to her classmate's parents and mentioned the party at her home.  One father asked whether there was a party planned at our home or not, as Olivia had told him there was.

When the day finally arrived, we tried to prepare Olivia for the fact that there was no party planned.  After she arrived back home that evening, the warnings apparently hadn't worked because she was devastated that no one had come to celebrate her 'birthday'.  Nothing could be done to console her.   Finally after 8 p.m. before she was supposed to go to sleep, I had to drive out in the rain to the nearby grocery store to buy some birthday cupcakes.  We ate those cupcakes to celebrate the tearful little girl's 'birthday'.