This weekend I attended two birthday celebrations.
The first was a daunting group of four to nine year olds who were focused on computer screens around the perimeter of the room when I arrived. Now there were boxes of actual legos in the middle of the room but no child was playing with these; they were content instead to build a virtual item with their partner.
Birthday parties have changed since I was a child.
The invitation said no gifts but donations were taken so that another family around the world would have a present. A goat was suggested but another child preferred a dragon. (I'm not sure that is the most sustainable gift but I'd bet this kid was a Minecraft fan.) In the end, there was a selection of chicks, goats, a water filter and a few other items.
There was cake and awkward singing.
It was nice to see some elements of my childhood have continuity.
The second party was filled with Iron(wo)man triathletes, ultra-runners and adventure racers. There were only two of us that had not run a marathon (not including the kids). The food was healthy, there were discussions about races, and a few of us ate brownies and had a bit of reading water.
There was no cake or awkward singing.
There was peer pressure to run a marathon and decisions on the next time we'd run together.
Birthday parties have changed since I was in my twenties.
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