Whirlwinds - Chapter 2

The boys turned two recently. Was it not only a few weeks ago when I was writing about their first birthday? It certainly feels like it.

As I look back, year one of their lives seemed to be a kind of parental marathon. It felt long. Sure there were great moments. Fantastic moments. But sheesh, I can see why the first birthday is a real milestone for the parents mainly. It is as if you made it through something. All of that "time flies when you have kids" didn't apply at all.

This year was different. The speed of it leaves me scratching my head a bit and wondering where the days all went.

So, birthday number two arrived and we found ourselves at one of those kid gymnasiums that seem to be sprouting up everywhere nowadays. We shelled out a fair amount of cash for two hours to rent the entire place for our boys and all of their gazillion little pals.

This is what we got in return:

1. A huge space with lots of stuff they can climb on without killing themselves.
2. The chance for about twenty kids to run around like the banshees they are.
3. An extra room where they could all sit down together to eat birthday cake. There is nothing quite as terrifying as seeing a large group of two-year-olds stuffing their faces with high fructose content food. The sugar-induced mania which follows is impressive.
4. The ability to simply walk away from the maelstrom of the aftermath without cleaning a single thing up. The flotsam and jetsam created by toddlers would keep a person busy for hours. Mulitply that by 20, and well, you'll be tidying up for like, a thousand years. We just said thanks and left.

Result? It was probably the best money we've ever spent.

Certainly the ability to not have to pick up after one's own children, or anyone else's for that matter, after a toddler's birthday party is something that all parents can appreciate. But there was more to it than that. Parenting young kids is a lesson in "firsts". First crawl, first word, first poo that makes your eyebrows melt, etc.

Their second birthday was the first time I really appreciated the unblemished joy of watching my own kids have fun.

I don't mean fun in the tempered sense we adults have grown used to. I mean the kind of fun that is the sole property of a two-year-old. Man, that's some crazy fun. Kids at that age look like they're gonna go out of their frickin' minds when they are at the zenith of their fun.

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This place we rented brought out all the goods as well. Bubbles (what is up with kids and bubbles?), huge foam balls, one of those jumpy castle type thingys, and when the staff broke out "the parachute" I thought these children would pass out with glee.

My god, it was really something.

But here's the thing. It might have been one of the most fun days of my life as well.

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My wife and I were the enablers of unabashed fun. We were the Ambassadors Of Good Times to our kids and their friends.

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To stand back and watch your own children running around possessed by the spirit of pure joy while knowing that you were the ones that "made it happen" is really, really great. Simply, I felt happy that I could give that to my kids.

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The bonus of being able to leave straight away at the end without picking up a single messy plate was pretty darn good too though.