A Six Year Old Like No Other

CW loves birthdays like no other child I have known. He plans and replans every aspect of his party for months in advance and almost before the wrapping paper has made it successfully to the dump, he begins planning the next party.

This year, CW had some problems. There was behavior that needed correcting that he consistently failed to address and I was at my wits' end. So, I pulled out the big guns, thinking that if nothing else, CW's love for birthday parties would propel him to substantial corrective behavior. I was wrong. Nothing changed. But, in order to maintain my street cred as a mom who means business, I had to make good on my threat. No party for CW. Unfortunately, CW is the original optimist and despite our repeated and clearly articulated assurances that there would be NO party, he issued verbal invitations. Luckily no one actually showed up, but I did have to reassure a couple of his best buddies' mothers that there really was no party (instead of the firmly held belief of at least one of the buddies that he was just being excluded).

I am not mean enough a mom to cancel birthdays altogether, so there was still cake, which CW designed and helped to execute.
(CW currently wants to be a race car driver and this was our best attempt at a dirt race track)

Even though CW got no party, being the sunny side up kind of kid he is, he spent the day enchanted by the wonder of wearing the birthday crown at kindergarten and the promise and fulfillment of cake, icecream and presents in one day, surrounded by family. And pizza. It was a pretty good birthday by my estimation, perhaps one of my favorites, if only for its low effort quality. So, I guess I got a present on CW's birthday too. And as for that offensive behavior that caused the party removal in the first place? We're still working on it.