Friday Five: It's My (Birthday) Party!

I wanted to post pictures of my own first birthday party, but couldn't find any in my parents' albums. So I just posted these from thirty-two years and some odd months ago. The picture above is me with my Grandpa Johnson - the picture below is me with my friend Karla, who graduated from high school with me and (I hear) checks this blog regularly. Hi, KB!

From Songbird at Revgalblogpals: I hate to say it, but over the years I've been to too many parties where I, or the birthday child, has felt much like the chorus of Lesley Gore's old tune. I am therefore not the biggest fan of birthday parties. For this Friday (which happens to be my birthday), tell us these five things about parties, birthday or otherwise.

How fun! I'm visiting my parents today, and tomorrow is my 33rd birthday, so a party meme makes perfect sense!

1) Would you rather be the host or the guest?
I would rather be both. A couple of times in the past few years I've celebrated my birthday by inviting friends to join me for dinner at a favorite restaurant, at a friend's home or at our own home. What's far more important than hosting or guesting (yes, I just verbed "guest" - deal) is being with those you love as you celebrate significant milestones.

2) When you are hosting, do you clean everything up the minute the guests go home? Will you accept help with the dishes?
I will ALWAYS accept help with the dishes, and we do usually clean after the guests leave. Credit that to a wife who hates to leave dishes unwashed even during a meal; but that works out well for me, since I LOATHE doing the dishes.

3) If you had the wherewithal, and I guess I mean more than money, to throw a great theme party, what would the theme be?
I would throw my own eleventy-first birthday party! I draw much of my thoughts on birthday parties from Bilbo & Frodo Baggins' joint celebration at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring. I would love to throw a gigantic party, inviting all the people I know half as well as I'd like and all the people I like half as well as they deserve. There would be good food, good ale, small gifts for everyone from me, and a big fireworks show. Oh, and Longbottom Leaf as well.

4) What's the worst time you ever had at a party?
I'll amend this to focus more on birthdays, mostly because I don't think I've ever not enjoyed a party. The worst birthday I ever had was my thirteenth. I finished dead last in both shot put & discus at a junior high track meet, a girl I liked sent one of her friends to tell me she wouldn't go to the end of the year dance with me, and an 8th grader who saw it teased me mercilessly the whole bus ride home. Talk about miserable.

5) And to end on a brighter note, what was the best?
This year is shaping up to be a great birthday celebration. I'm home visiting family, my brother is receiving his Master's degree tomorrow, and on Sunday I'll run the Lincoln Half-Marathon with friends and enjoy a joint birthday celebration with LutheranHusker and some of our friends. So, a Happy Birthday to you, Songbird, and also to anyone else celebrating this weekend!