This weekend, my family is getting together to celebrate multiple birthdays. My niece (2), my sister (26) and my dad (ancient), all have birthdays around the this time, so we’re 
planning a mega fiesta.
Just five years ago, things were much different. I was the only one who was married amongst my siblings and there were no little ones in the picture. We would celebrate each adult’s birthday with a nice dinner and maybe a rousing evening of board games and laughter.
Now that our family has grown from six to 14, things are a bit different. There’s no such thing as a quiet dinner at mom and dad’s, now it’s a four-hour marathon chasing children from one end of grandma and grandpa’s farm to the other with breaks for cake and presents.
Celebrating birthdays for three different generations at one time is a mind-boggling experience. Grandpa wants steak, football, gifts, cake and scattered naps throughout the event. My sister wants lasagna, witty banter, gifts and “remember when” conversations that leave us all laughing so hard we’re crying. My niece wants games, cake, presents and to chase her siblings and cousins around like a maniac.
And, magically, we make it all work.
We start out the party sitting in the living room. We catch up on what everyone’s been doing while grandma grills the main course. Once the latest and greatest Arias news has been shared, one of us brings up a distant memory that cracks everybody up. During this time, the children are running around like maniacs.
When the dinners done, grandma presents the best grilled fare on the planet and my sister-in-law dishes up the most amazing lasagna to ever grace a birthday party. In the background, we hear the voice of a referee calling a penalty against whoever is rivaling the Chicago Bears this week.
Once dinner, packed with sprinkles of “Eat your food” and “That happened 20 years ago, can we let it go?” is over, we retreat back into the living room where the Monsters of the Midway are not scoring a touchdown and the kids play some simple beanbag toss games while grandpa snores.
About half an hour later, after the 58th time one of us has jumped up to see where a toddler happened off to, we wake up grandpa and everyone opens their gifts. While the celebrants are tearing through their gifts, the rest of us are trying to keep 3-feet-tall, grumpy party guests from tearing into presents that aren’t theirs.
Once the presents are opened, grandpa falls asleep again to the symphony of the Bears finally pulling out a win in the fourth quarter and children fighting over toys. We wrestle jackets onto the kids who haven’t passed out from exhaustion and head outside for them to burn the last ounce of energy they’re holding on to. This is always a bad idea, because they always have more energy than we do. When will we learn?
The day wraps up with some delicious cakes. Yes, cakes. Each honoree has his or her own cake…and it would be rude to turn any away.
With our bellies distended, energy zapped and weary smiles on our faces, we head home. Everyone’s day has been a success, and the kids will sleep well tonight. Happy birthday to me!
Image Source: flickr.com/photos/sleepishly/2656467632/
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