The Party

So CJ received his first invitation to a birthday party for one of his friends from school last week. He was so excited. He couldn't wait to go. I on the other hand realized that we were starting a new phase. The phase where Mama is taking out of her comfort zone into the learning to make small talk with other parents you don't know and have nothing in common with. A lot of people who know me don't realize that I have a bit of social anxiety. Alright, more than a bit. I do fine in specific groups such as classrooms of students or volunteering at an agency, but I do not enjoy and have a lot of anxiety about situations that require small talk. I spent two days looking at this invitation before I even called to RSVP. The conversation with the mother was sufficiently awkward as I explained who I was and stated that CJ would be attending.

The other hard part is that most of the kids who CJ goes to school with have mother's who know each other. Most of the mom's stay at home and they all go to church together. We don't go to that church and Case says none of the mom's will even talk with him when he stands in line to pick CJ up. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous. The second issue was that the party was scheduled for Valentine's Day. Now I was not only going to have to pull it together and figure out something to say, I had to do it on a day I just wanted to spend with my family.

The party went fine. It was at Gymboree. Most of the mom's completely ignored me, but that was okay. The hostess was extremely nice and one of the other mom's said hi. Her daughter and CJ play a lot at school. It was okay. Most importantly CJ had a great time, which he repeatedly said to me. That was worth it, but it just made me realize I'm only at the beginning of this.