Birthdays.

My son's birthday cake made by his brother

I had an interesting birthday. Almost no presents. It was lovely. There was no pretending that gifts I didn't want were lovely. There was no stress with organising things. I really enjoyed it!

This is not to say that I had nothing, there was a small box of chocolates, a bunch of flowers and a packet of my favourite sweets chosen by my boys. We had a family day out and I even got to have a restaurant meal with J in the evening so money wasn't saved. It just wasn't wasted on stuff that I didn't want or need, I felt pleasantly spoilt.

My son's birthday has also recently passed. He has a very different viewpoint on birthdays. They should involve party games and lots (and lots) of presents. We really are not very good at fulfilling his requirements! But I think he enjoyed his day despite it not being the perfect vision he was expecting. A few days later we had a family get together for his party and I succeeded in the challenge of serving a roast meal to seventeen hungry people. There is a special atmosphere when sharing a meal rather than picking from a buffet. It was enjoyed by all and I get to pat myself on the back.

On having opened a present from his grandmother I reminded my son to say thank you. Looking at the odd pile of plastic his reply was that he wasn't sure if he could as he really didn't know what it was yet! My youngest is still painfully honest.