Birthday de ja vu

Nostalgia isn't something you would expect kids to have. They are more concerned with what's ahead of them than what's behind. No one epitomizes this state of mind more than Paris.
When he was born, he was almost inconsolable in the hospital. I remember checking his diaper, trying to feed him, wrapping him and unwrapping him, trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally, I just held him, looked into his red, screwed up face and asked him what his problem was. I got the distinct impression that he was just pissed that he was a baby. One minute he was running around in heaven, hanging with his peeps; the next he was in this tiny body that couldn't talk, couldn't walk, couldn't even sit up. And he was as mad as a hornet about it.
That theory was only validated by the fact that he didn't stop screaming until he was about 5 months and could sit up and crawl. He was the first of my kids to walk--at 9 months; and I honestly can't remember his first word--it seemed as though he woke up one day, speaking whole paragraphs. He's considered himself the same age as T and Nina ever since. (For some reason, I even got literature in the mail for him to be entered into the Who's Who book of outstanding high schoolers, and have even gotten recruitment pamphlets from colleges--this was when he was 5.)
So imagine my surprise when he asked to forgo a birthday party for his 9th birthday. Instead, he wanted the whole family to go to Sesame Place--an amusement/water park in PA that we visited when he turned 4. It was our first vacation that we took as a family that didn't include a visit with other family (or a house hunting trip), and it happened to coincide with his 4th birthday. Apparently, it was a very good memory: In fact, the only gift he wanted this year, he claimed, was a stuffed Ernie--the same type he got as a souvenir the first time we went and somehow lost a year or so later when we moved from VA to AL.
I don't know what prompted this fit of nostalgia, but honestly, I couldn't have been more relieved. Two-three weeks before his birthday, when I should have been nailing down his birthday venue and sending out invites, I was in over my head with dance rehearsals and recitals, visiting teaching conference plans, and deadlines for summer camps. (Plus Brian was not scheduled to be in town for more than a handful of days during the entire month). A family party at a water park sounded like a lot less work than putting together a party.
I still felt guilty, of course, so I let him invite one friend. (This was before I checked out the prices--perhaps not the smartest move). Then looking at the calendar, already stacked with events, we decided to move it up a week to last Sat. (This was before I checked out the weather--again, not the smartest move.) Still, despite the cloudy day, we had a great day. A storm did roll in after lunch, which shut down all of the rides and water attractions. But we were able to get a free "rain check" ticket to come back another day. And we had been there long enough to get in most of the attractions. We bought Paris a Ernie doll and Paris proclaimed it the Best Birthday Ever. So maybe we made some new good memories.

The boys: T, Paris, and his friend.