Kim had one of those Round Number Birthdays last month, so naturally we had to celebrate.
The problem, though, was that she originally tried to leave much of this up to me and I have no party skills whatsoever.
“What do you want to do for your birthday?”
“That’s up to you. I’m the birthday girl.”
We went around like that for a while until she realized that this was probably a losing cause for everyone involved and she started telling me what she wanted so I could just go ahead and do it. I spent thirty years backstage on the lighting crew. If you give me a plan I can get it done just fine. Just don’t ask me to do the planning.
In the end, she wanted a pizza party and you know? That sounded like a good idea. I called around to a few places without much success until finally we went to a local place and just asked them if they could host a party with two or three dozen adults, and to his eternal credit Benny the Manager didn’t even flinch. “Sure!” he said. “We’ll block off this section of the restaurant and run a tab for you and you can settle up at the end of the night.”
Reader, he even let us bring in our own cake. Three cheers for Benny.
We managed to do this on Kim’s actual birthday which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year – the one day that wasn’t already spoken for over break and, to be honest, the main reason we scheduled our wedding on that same Saturday nearly three decades ago since we figured people could travel for it.
It took some doing to get things set up, including a last-minute stop to pick up party plates for the cake, but in the end it worked out pretty well. Everyone got a wristband so the cashier would know they were with us, we successfully managed to shoo out a number of people who apparently can’t read large signs about things being reserved for an event, and we had a grand time. It was good pizza.
The problem, though, was that she originally tried to leave much of this up to me and I have no party skills whatsoever.
“What do you want to do for your birthday?”
“That’s up to you. I’m the birthday girl.”
We went around like that for a while until she realized that this was probably a losing cause for everyone involved and she started telling me what she wanted so I could just go ahead and do it. I spent thirty years backstage on the lighting crew. If you give me a plan I can get it done just fine. Just don’t ask me to do the planning.
In the end, she wanted a pizza party and you know? That sounded like a good idea. I called around to a few places without much success until finally we went to a local place and just asked them if they could host a party with two or three dozen adults, and to his eternal credit Benny the Manager didn’t even flinch. “Sure!” he said. “We’ll block off this section of the restaurant and run a tab for you and you can settle up at the end of the night.”
Reader, he even let us bring in our own cake. Three cheers for Benny.
We managed to do this on Kim’s actual birthday which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year – the one day that wasn’t already spoken for over break and, to be honest, the main reason we scheduled our wedding on that same Saturday nearly three decades ago since we figured people could travel for it.
It took some doing to get things set up, including a last-minute stop to pick up party plates for the cake, but in the end it worked out pretty well. Everyone got a wristband so the cashier would know they were with us, we successfully managed to shoo out a number of people who apparently can’t read large signs about things being reserved for an event, and we had a grand time. It was good pizza.
Eventually it was time for the cake.
At this point it seems relevant to note that there was a slight miscommunication regarding the cake decorations. I ordered it from a local supermarket bakery, which had the inestimable virtue of being open on the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I could pick it up, and they asked me a few questions.
“What do you want it to say?”
“Happy birthday, Kim.”
“What sort of decorations do you want?”
“Flowers would be good.”
“What’s her favorite color?”
“Green.”
And thus we ended up with:
It was tasty nonetheless.
The embroidered cloth in front of the cake was something that Kim stitched for our wedding. It’s based on a Ukrainian pattern and we had it wrapped around our hands then. It was nice to see it again.
Lauren had suggested that we go out barhopping afterward but it was a very cold night and by the time the festivities ended that turned into a nice evening at home, hanging out with the four of us plus Max and Nolan.
Happy birthday, Kim!
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