So Many Leos, So Many Liams

There are many Leos in my life--my dad, a mess of friends, and my nephew, Thing 1.

This past weekend, I went up to the burbs of Boston to celebrate Thing 1's sixth birthday. Mom and Dad were there, too. My brother and sister-in-law threw a Yu-Gi-Oh! bash for the kid at a nautically themed mini golf arcade called Par-Tee. The party, as kids parties go, was half way to miraculous. Thing 1 has 15 of the most well behaved young friends, all boys, I have ever seen. No one cried. No one kicked. No one puked. No one peed his pants. No one was conked in the head with a mini golf putter. The professional Par-Tee hostess and her teenage mini-teed side kicks kept a potential horde of rug rats safe for 2 hours of sugar stoked organized revelry. I believe the key to the party's success was the well timed, controlled release of boy energy. The hostess donned a pirate costume, checked to see that Thing 2 was out of the room (he's only 2 and a half), then jumped in to surprise the guests, but none of them were scared. They were too jaded from past parties. Eventually, even Thing 2 toddled up to the pirate to shake his plastic hook.

Among the partiers there were 2 Liams, an Eamon, a Kieran, a Rohan, a Joe, a Sean, but no Jasons, no Daves, and not even a Mike. I seem to recall a George, but there were certainly no Maliks.

I tried to bring a gender-neutral but exciting gift, one that would neither encourage violence, nor subject Thing 1 to any teasing from the guys (The boy enjoys cooking and takes great pride in selecting the right outfit for an occasion, and the mediation of folding clothes and setting a stylish table, but I my gift could not relate to these interests). I thought a set of markers and drawing pads would go over well, but no. As soon as Thing 1 pulled them out of the gift bag, a kid cried out "My sister would like that! She likes art!" I topped it off by giving Thing 1 a smooch on the forehead. Oh well. Several packs of Yu-Gi trading cards, the pile of Spider-Man accessories and the Legoesque BTR Armada Transformer soon put that embarrassment out of everyone's head. At least I wasn't the kid who gave Thing 1 a tired t-shirt with some boring sea turtle design, in a Pink Panter gift bag, no less. If that wasn't a re-gift, then I'm a real pirate.