Saturday, January 05, 2008

Bears with sore heads

Yesterday my boy turned seven. Thank God. Thank God it's all over. The cards, the presents, the relentless bloody joy of it all. I do not have to have a good time now till November when it is my daughter's birthday. I held out against a large children's birthday party this year on the grounds the builders needed our money more than we did. Instead, we drove for an hour to the nearest city and saw a movie about singing chipmunks. (I have never understood why mothers do not get a spa retreat day on their children's birthdays let alone have to go to movies with chipmunks in them.)Before the film, we went for a Chinese buffet. The boys wanted to eat sausage and chips which was not really the idea of taking them there; we compromised on sausage, chips and prawn crackers. Half the restaurant's clientele was clinically obese. (I say this with a certain sympathy as a woman who is a dress size larger than she was last year. I am blaming the water.) It made me wonder if we should all perhaps stop going to buffet restaurants where the management allows you to go back as many times as you want for refills. There is a sign at one end of the counters: "Please be considerable when taking the food. Anyone abusing it by wasting food, be asked to pay a supplement of £5 per portion." There was also a warning that: "Customers who take large portions of crabs are not being considerate to the other diners, this dish is limited, please share it with everyone." (Disappointingly, "crabs" was off yesterday or perhaps it had been eaten up by the inconsiderate.) Anyway, today is a home day, later I will take down the Christmas cards, put away the new toys on shelves and then all we have to do is take down the 12 foot Christmas tree without breaking anything or anyone.

12 comments:

Kim said...

I have always been of the mind that children should pamper their mothers when their birthday comes around. You know, to thank us for their existence and all.

Funny, my oldest is 17 and it hasn't happened once.

Anonymous said...

A very happy birthday to a lovely little boy.

Crystal xx

The Woman who Can said...

Maybe you'll get your spa retreat on Mother's Day? You've written it now, that surely must be a clue to your nearest & dearest?

The Draughtsman said...

When the Christmas decs are put away for another year,
When the Christams Tree, all twelve foot of it is outside waiting for hubby to convert it into firewood,
When the children are back at school and hubby's gone to work.
Why not have a trip out to Berwick/Alnwick/Morpeth/Newcaslte and have that spa?

The Draughtsman said...

Newcaslte?
I mean Newcastle is there such a thing as typing dyslexia?

James Higham said...

Seven years old. Let me see - that makes you 23 - wow!

Iota said...

Maybe there were so many obese people because they had all been considerable when taking their food.

Annie said...

Just stumbled onto your blog and find it refreshing. I thought I was the only parent who thought children's birthdays should be exclusively about the mother and her SACRIFICE-snicker-

Cheers! I'll be back :)

MiaDeRoca said...

Birthdays should definitely be timed better... everything so close to christmas, what a hazzle ;-)
After having taken the tree down - that is the time to get yourself a spa retreat (but choose something without the smell of fir or pine).

Anonymous said...

Poor little Capricorn! My birthday is 2nd January, and he will suffer like I did from post Christmas/New year lack of interest in any more festivity..

liz nuts said...

Hiya just discovered your blog and love it. I celebrated my son's
18th birthday (which is Christmas Day) by eating and drinking loads and buying 'myself' a small pressie as 'I' am the one who now has stretchmarks, sagging breats (thanks to breastfeeding 2 children) and loss of memory. I would recommend every woman should celebrate the birthday of every child they have and it helps you look forward to something other than what the hell you are going to buy the little monsters.

Nina said...

I'm a little behind, but this is very timely, as we are celebrating a 5-year-old today...by going to dinner at an Asian buffet. heh-heh. We did the chipmunk movie a couple weeks ago.