A Really Nice Day, part 1

We had a really nice day for A’s birthday, the big 10.0, and it could have gone many different ways because we were sort of exposing ourselves to the hands of fate, including a reliance on the weather, other people, and the unknown. We had spent the previous two days baking like crazy in preparation. We must have made four dozen cupcakes. The pic shows them in the shape of the #10, in honor of A's 10th birthday.

As I mentioned before, A was not sure what exactly she wanted to do, so we had to leave things somewhat open-ended. She mentioned a party, something R and I were not so keen on but were prepared to do, and also a trip, an evening out, skiing, and/or a sleepover. All possibilities, some more preferred by boring mom and dad.

As the day approached, we were still without a plan. We figured we’d go out to Jesse’s for supper, like we always do, but our good friend and neighbor NT also mentioned a house dinner concert for her musician friend. I asked her if it would be okay to bring a cake in celebration of A’s birthday, NT gave an emphatic thumbs up, and hinted that we could turn it into a birthday/dinner/concert. When we broached this with A, she said she was all for it, so we had come to at least one decision.

There was also the issue of skiing. We had been skiing fairly regularly at S6 and seeing our former Waldorf brethren there. At some point our friend SS invited us to ski with them, and on A’s birthday, they were having a Mardi Gras celebration complete with food, hot cocoa, and even beads. A&N were excited at the prospect, but it would have only worked if the H’s came, because A loves to ski with CH, her buddy (they’re such good friends). It works perfectly because she and CH ride the lift and ski together, and me and N do the same.

Since it was a celebration, and we were in essence crashing their party, I figured we couldn’t show up empty handed, so I spent all morning making an apple bundt cake to bring along. We were also dependent on the weather, which didn’t turn out to be so bad. Snow instead of sleet. I called SS in the AM and he said the show was on. However, I talked to CH as well, and she mentioned C was not feeling well, and there was a possibility that he wouldn’t make it. This, of course, would have put a big damper on things (no pressure), because it was A’s birthday and it would have been a bummer if her buddy was not there.

So many what-ifs, but there was no turning back. We started started the day with the breakfast of A’s choice (pancakes and bacon) and then present opening. She was thrilled with all the fun stuff that she got, and for the record, still no word from my mom or my knucklehead brother. The kids were excited, but we had places to be, so we had to get ready, keeping our eyes on the weather.

We went to the hill and awaited our fate. It turns out that CH was feeling okay, and that pretty much made the day okay. I don’t mean to make such a big deal about it, but A and C are such good friends, and in so many ways they operate on similar levels. Plus, they get along like a house on fire, as the saying goes. AND, like A, not only is CH not a Waldorf student, but they were former classmates in the same class. Without CH there, A would have been the one kid who wasn’t in the school. She would have been fine, she always does well in social situations, but it’s kind of a bummer being the odd-man out.

Anyway, CH made it. When I saw him walking up the ramp, my heart skyrocketed, because it meant that A was going to have that much more fun on the hill. It’s nicer to ski with a buddy. The weather turned out to be pretty awful, freezing rain the entire time, which hurt your face when you skied and drenched everyone on the hill, but it didn’t stop us from having a blast. We were soaked to the bone, but we stuck it out and skied for the entire time. It was challenging, but fun, and N and I skied one of the hardest runs all day. He is such a good skier.

After skiing, we hit the lodge, crashing the Waldorf party, though we were invited. A actually had fun seeing some of her old classmates, and reconnected with some of them, including YKW. The bundt cake was a hit (even though I destroyed it trying to get it out of the pan), and we got to snack on finger foods. We couldn’t stay long because we were soaked, and we had another gig to get to that evening. We packed up at the same time as C,S&CH, and headed home. It was a really fun day at the ski hill, and I just wanted to thank SS for inviting us and helping us out, and to everyone at the school for making it a nice day.

We were ready to begin the second phase of A’s birthday, but more on that later. For now, thanks for reading.