1198. When Birthday Parties Get Out of Control

I went to a birthday party with my middle son today and it was fantastic. He roller-skated for hours and afterwards asked when he could go back. I don’t know how much the party cost, but I know that to do a party for my soon-to-be 9 yr old will cost more than a 50″ LCD   TV. Whatever happened to the days when parties were inviting a few friends over, putting on costumes and kicking back? Unfortunately we don’t have the backyard to do a legit kids party. In truth our house is set up for small-group engagement as opposed to 25 kids running around and parents watching. Instead we go elsewhere and elsewhere costs money.

I’ve been pouring through blogs, Yelp reviews, and storefront websites to find an experience my son will appreciate. Being 9, his priority is some form of acrobatic insanity, preferably trampoline aided. These things aren’t cheap and given his number of friends and the immediate relative of those friends, the number of required guests rises like high tide. So, I’m in the market for alternative solutions. We may stay local and put our money into a tribal solution. We may go unconventional and arrange a martial arts thing or a gymnastics thing. We may skip the party and do something small and private. Whatever we do, I gotta plan it fast, because he turns 9 in less than a month.

Some Thoughts:

1. Been thinking about response theory. Specifically I’ve been considering my dog and how he acts when I get home. Is he at the door because he cares or is he at the door because he knows I will pet him and he wants that? Hard to tell.
2. The Giants looked decent on D. The line has swagger again, but the secondary is still struggling for an identity. The LB corp was a big surprise. They played like these 19 practices really made an impact. Could be a good season. Given the depth the team has at multiple skill positions, Coughlin may have conquered the fact that he doesn’t have 16-week players. Then again, the offense failed to punch it in at all. We’ll see what sort of difference in play there is against the Jets next week.