Party girl..

Now that Lucy is at school her circle of friends has widened. Which means lots of friends, lots of birthday parties. Lucy loves this. The bouncy castles, trips to mega fun, brightly coloured party drinks, party bags, new toys, large bits of cake and complete freedom and licence to run around like a headless chicken for a couple of hours. Her parents on the other hand are not quite as enamoured. We have had loads of parties in recent months and I have to say all the endless presents that we need to buy for children we don't always know is my first annoyance. All these children have cost me about £120 in recent months! Secondly, is the parties that Lucy is not quite so sure about being there on her own for. When you sit there like a lemon, the only bloke in the room as all the mums talk about mum things leaving you extremely socially isolated and bored out of your skull. Lastly is the noise level. Oh my god! The last thing you want on a Sunday afternoon is twenty five very loud five year olds. I would prefer garden, coffee and quiet before the new working week begins. Today, Lucy has yet another party and this time we dropped her off and spent time in the garden. I appreciated the whole experience more as I enjoyed listening to her tales of the excitement of the party and what a good time she had had. My kind of party - one at a distance...