When your second son turns 5, what do you do to celebrate?
If you are us, this is how you do it:
You plan an Olympic Opening Ceremony for Friday night and invite Susan and Fr.s Marcin, Christensen and Tyler. You stay up so late that the soon-to-be 5 year-old falls asleep on the couch facing the TV.
Then, you wake him up early the next morning and stuff him into his dress clothes and haul him and his siblings to a Tridentine Rite Wedding Mass in the driving snow. You listen to dad sing in the choir and eat lots of cupcakes at the reception.
You watch some Olympics and make Olympic decorations and cupcakes, send dad out for some pizza and wait for the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa to come over and PARTAY. Then you play some Wii, visit with friends from Brookings and go to bed late.
You wake up tired on Sunday to a FIVE year old and a house decked out for Valentine’s day. You watch the clean house become disastrous in 2 seconds flat and drive to Mass wishing you had eaten 2% of the candy the kids ate. While at church, you listen to the 5 year old ponder why EVERYONE doesn’t know it’s his birthday and a running list of things you have left to accomplish for his birthday to happen.
“You need to wrap my presents.”
“Do you have the tickets made?”
“Why haven’t you decorated yet?”
You come home and try to get warm, watch some Olympics, go last minute shopping, decorate for Chinese New Years, make chicken on a stick, frost more cupcakes, welcome Susan and Fr. Castor for supper, eat, say hello to the Brookings clan again, do the treasure hunt for presents, unwrap the gifts and then, THEN, finally head downstairs for the Extravaganza and to watch Kung Fu Panda.
THAT’S what we did when Philip turned 5.
Happy Birthday/St. Valentine’s Day/Chinese New Year, year of the Tiger from our house!
