All alone at a birthday party-

and he couldn't be happier!  Little Bug is now in kindergarten and with it comes birthday parties.  Lots and lots of birthday parties.  It seems like every other week someone in his class has a birthday.  Previously we have always stayed with Little Bug at the parties.  You know the drill, chatting with the other parents while watching for signs of a meltdown from over stimulation.  At the first two birthday parties, there were some rocky moments. Crying in a tube at Odyssey simply because it is way too much fun.  Spinning and flapping at Chuck E. Cheese in the middle of the aisle whenever a game was taken.    It was a learning experience for all of us.

As Little Bug has grown, he has begun to be able to really identify when he is tired, when too much is going on, when he is "fweakin' out" as he puts it and ask for time alone.  We have made sure that he has a quite place in our house to go to and also tried to make sure that this sort of space is available for him at our friends and families.  I think the biggest challenge has been getting our families to understand that he doesn't need soothing or loving- just space.  Space to breath, space for quiet, space for himself.  


Unfortunately, these spaces don't always exist at birthday parties.  Birthday parties are monsters that spew sugar and stimulation.  They provide just enough stimulation to leave children buzzing while not enough to get parents to say that dreaded line- NO MORE BIRTHDAY PARTIES!  The last birthday party Little Bug was invited to was Sunday- at the gymnastics room at our local YMCA.  It was a drop off party.  The YMCA had trainers to help the kids with gymnastic equipment and toys for them to play with.  Little Bug asked to be left alone and Nick and I obliged- but not before providing the mom with our cell  phone number.


We spent the next two hours expecting a call while going about last minute Christmas chores.  Any time a phone went off in the store, we would check ours, just in case.  No call came.


When we went to pick Little Bug up, he was almost to the ceiling of the Y- conservatively 20 feet up- on a rope that he had climbed.  He then climbed back down and up again. Apparently, our child is half monkey and had been "surprising" the staff with his climbing abilities for most of the party.  We asked how he did and there were no concerns- apparently, and in a way that made us burst with pride- he was the model party goer.  When we asked him for a recap of the party, he let us know that while he had fun climbing, sometimes he had to play trains by himself and run the trains back and forth in front of his eyes before he could go and play.


We are so proud of him- especially for being able to identify his own needs and fulfill them.  We also can't wait for the next party- this time, Nick and I can enjoy ourselves!