meant to be ideal and suggestive only

I can remember vividly my last parent-sponsored birthday party... Ten young girls helped me whoop up my official entry into the double digit years. I recall receiving a poster of Sean Cassidy sporting a hairless chest (which was promptly covered with lipsticked kisses over the following weeks, though I had no idea why he was famous and still don't).

Vivid, also, is the memory of my mother telling me that this would be the last big birthday shin-dig. All remaining birthdays would be quiet affairs, dinner and dessert with the parental units... or maybe one friend over for a sleepover.

Oh, what sorrow! I would NEVER do that to my own children! I was absolutely positive that I had the meanest mother in the whole wide world. I must have been adopted. My real parents wouldn't do that.

Imagine my surprise this week when my mother's speech of so many years ago issued forth from my very own mouth.

Luke took the news about as well as I did when I was his age. But he was happy with his home-made Lego-Spaceman invitation...