Cake, Love...and a Few Presents

Being a some-what Pinterest mom, it may not have been the 4th birthday party I had envisioned for my son this past weekend, but we had to work with the hand we were dealt.

What was supposed to be a party at Chuck E. Cheese with all of my Pinterest decor and party favors with family and friends, ended up being a party with just the four of us. And let me tell you, I wasn’t about to let my son down just because we weren’t going to play arcade games and eat pizza.

Sunday morning, we didn't do anything too over the top. We draped streamers across the stairs and had him rip them down as he came down the stairs, we had some super hero decorations hung in the kitchen, with a chocolate cake and chocolate frosting (his request) sitting on the table, and of course his birthday presents sitting in a pile.

He requested eggs with cheese for breakfast and after that, he opened some gifts we got him.

He was so excited to rip them open, and reminded me how exciting it was to have birthdays at that age. My mom got my sister and Helena's family to do a fun social distance birthday parade. They decorated their vehicles, drove by the house waving, honking, playing birthday music and cheering and dropped off gifts on the driveway. He received phone calls, texts and videos from all the people he loves. He had a huge smile on his face with each of them that came in.

He opened up the rest of his presents, and ate up the Mac N Cheese from KFC for lunch that he requested. We sang happy birthday, and as he was devouring his chocolate cake, he stopped and said, “Mama, thank you for making me a birthday.”

MY. HEART. MELTED.

It was right there in that moment, that he taught me yet another lesson. He doesn’t need the Pinterest inspired cupcakes, the over the top decor or the coordinating table settings. He wants cake, love...and a few presents.

We spent the afternoon playing with his new toys as a family, ate leftover cake, and had “basanga” (lasagna), for dinner.

This summer, we hope to get our family and friends together for a BBQ, and just enjoy each others company. If there’s a silver lining in this whole pandemic experience, it is to slow down, enjoy the simple things life has to offer.

We are all in this together!

{Tressa}