Party like it's 1999

On Sunday, the BossLady and I threw a baby shower for two of our closest friends.  The husband has been one of my best friends since I was 13 years old and I was the best man at his wedding.  His wife is truly awesome and she's quickly become one of our favorite people.  Together, they're one of our closest "couple" friends so it was an easy decision for us to want to throw her a baby shower a mere two weeks before her due date.  We thought we'd keep the whole thing casual and decided to have a Sunday afternoon barbecue/baby shower for a few close friends and their kids. 

Holy crap!  Little did we know that our apartment was going to be transformed into a massive daycare center.  Originally the plan was to invite a few friends over for an intimate shower.  Maybe just have 6-8 couples over and enjoy a leisurely afternoon of steaks, burgers, bloody marys and champagne.  However, we forgot that everyone has kids now.  So before we knew it, we had 16 adults in our apartment being completely outnumbered and overrun by 10 little kids.  It was pure comedy. 

Remember.  We live in downtown Manhattan.  We don't have a backyard.  We've got a living room.  And though it's pretty spacious by NY standards, there's nothing like having 10 kids running around to make it feel a lot smaller.  But it was hilarious watching the kids go wild in our apartment.  Before we knew it, the kids were all over the place, letting their inhibitions and imaginations run rampant.  The older kids looked after the little ones.  New friendships were formed immediately.  Toys were shared and books were read together.  The whole scene was absolutely adorable.  All the kids were amazingly well-behaved.  They were having a blast but they were always polite and mindful of not going completely bonkers. 

But for me, it was astounding to look at all these great parents and reminisce about the fun times we've all shared together over the years.  The mom giving her son a "time out" was the same girl who used to sneak out to Studio 54 when she was 17 years old.  The dad wiping his daughter's face was the same guy who went a whole month without showering during the summer of '90.  The mom kissing her daughter's boo-boo was the girl who used to love drinking cosmos and dancing on the bar.  The dad singing "ring around the rosies" was a former Calvin Klein model at the age of 17.  The mom holding her newborn used to throw wild parties where it always seemed by the end of the night that all her fashion editor friends were making out with one another.  That other dad kissing his daughter's face all night?  He used to be the guy who never wanted to go home after a night of debauchery. 

It's funny.  The amazing thing to me is not that they all turned out to be highly successful people.  For me, that was never in question.  Nor is it the fact that they all became such great parents.  I never doubted that either.  Looking around during the baby shower, seeing all the kids playing and thinking about all the great and memorable times I've had with some of their parents over the past 20 years, you know what was the most amazing thing to me?

I think that our most enjoyable times together are actually ahead of us.

 

Comments

[bitemycookie]

isn't it crazy how "having a few people over" ten/five/three years ago takes on a whole new dynamic when you add kids (and life insurance) into the mix. were there still cosmos and table-dancing, though? surely your creative friends could find a way to meld the children and partying a into perfectly logical combo.

[Brent]

We recently had a similar gathering of old friends and their new kids. Very fun time. Gave new meaning to old phrases like "the munchies," "getting some tit," and "powdered formula." Times have definitely changed, haven't they?

[Richard]

You're totally right. I have a few childhood friends that I'm still in close with and we get together occasionally for summer barbecues or get-togethers. It's such a warm fuzzy feeling having our kids play together. More rewarding and enjoyable than anything else.

[misfithausfrau]

We went back to Indiana a little over a year ago and went to what we thought would be cookout with a small group of couples we hung out with in college. Imagine my surprise when we got there and our daughter was one of 10 children there! We are the same four couples who used to drink way too much, get way too loud, too stupid, too stoned and too carried away (we worked in a restaurant--what do you expect?). Now, they all go to church. Except us.

Since that time, two more children have been added! WOW!

[Melissa]

My boyfriend and I are still friends with people we have known since grade school. We were crazy people in our teens and early twenties. I had the best times with some of these people, partying, going on trips all over the world and just hanging out. But somehow it is just as fun to hang out and BBQ on Sunday's with my oldest friends and now a ton of kids. I think we all grew up and matured, but it's more than that. We all enjoyed our youth and then had kids, and having kids is a blast. I love having kids, the crazy times our different, but I think I enjoy it more, since I spent years being a crazy youth. Does that make since?? WHo knows.

[Lenora]

A leisurely Sunday afternoon of steaks, burgers, bloody marys and champagne? Sounds awesome! Are you & Bosslady looking for some new friends? I don't have kids but I'm an excellent babysitter!

[Meg]

I loved this entry. Beautifully put, all of it. All my friends are baby'ed to the hilt at this point, and while I'm still the Bridget Jones of the crowd, we have so much more to laugh about and take joy in now that these little people are running around in our midst. I knew my life was changing when I found myself holding a beer and a two month old at the strike of twelve on New Year's!

[Stephen]

One of the greatest things in my life is watching my kids become close friends with my best friend's kids. The whole intergenerational continuation of the friendship is so wonderful. It warms the cockles of my soul. Hopefully, this will happen with the Peanut too!

[Linda B]

In the past couple of years, our circle of just-married/childless friends has turned into a veritable smorgasbord of harried parents and happy toddlers. It's funny how things change so quickly over a course of a year or so.

[Jason]

What's interesting to me about your tale is how it differs so much from how the crowd I used to pal around with back in Tha Day ended up. Many of them are still doing the same thing - working in the same lame jobs for the same company, trying to pretend that the clock has stopped and that they're still cool 20-somethings. It's kinda sad.

[Matthew]

Very cool. The sign of great friends is growing stronger when kids arrive.

On another note, nothing like quitting smoking to inspire people to leave comments!

[Queen of Ass]

It's always so bizarre when people you've known all your life actually start growing up. Parts of it suck, but parts are completely awesome.

[Phil]

Great post. You're lucky to have such a close-knit group of friends who have matured with you. Like Jason, most of my buddies seem to be stuck in denial and are still doing the same things we did in our 20's. When I try to explain how much more rewarding life is now, they just look at me with blank stares.

[Bryan]

Forget about now! I wish I hung out with you and your friends when I was in MY 20's. Sounds like you had much more fun than me.

[David]

Being English and rather unversed in the ways of you American folk, I just adore this sentence:

"Originally the plan was to invite a few friends over for an intimate shower."

Wow!

[Chocolate makes it better]

Originally the plan was to invite a few friends over for an intimate shower.

THAT DON'T SOUND LIKE NO BABY SHOWER I'VE EVER BEEN TO!!!!!!

Glad to hear the kids had a ball....all to often people get caught up about stains on the rug or holes in the wall.

Good on ya mate.....let em go wild. holes can be fixed and stains removed but there is nothing like seeing kids have a great time.

[bill]

Very nice post. I am always amazed by my friends and their parenting. The talking about old times ends up becoming censored.

[Michael]

I've got to agree. There's nothing more enjoyable than seeing a bunch of little kids run around and play with each other. It's always so fun to watch two little kids become best friends within the span of a few minutes. One of the great things I love about watching kids play.

[Ricky]

Wow! Having lived in NYC, I've got to say that your living room must be pretty big to accomodate 16 adults and 10 kids. My last apartment in the city wouldn't hold 10 people in the entire place!

[landismom]

Yes, where exactly do you live MD?

I have to say that the last, similar event (family party) I went to in NYC was held in a loft that was painted totally white, housing works of art worth $75K. NOT very child friendly. At one point, I saw my son take a pillow off the (all-white, leather) couch and start jumping up and down on it. As I raced to stop him, the homeowner had a heart attack. Well, he looked like he was having one, anyway.

Glad your place is kid-friendly.

[panthergirl]

That is so sweet and so true. And you know what else? I honestly and truthfully believe that the best parents are the ones who REALLY LIVED before having their kids. That's probably really biased of me, but I just think we make cooler parents. Sure, we're going to be old geezers by the time our kids are gone, but at least we know we had a ton of fun while we were young enough to enjoy it!

[Kids Parties NJ]

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