They are completely deranged

I love my friends.  All of them for different reasons.

Surprisingly, I have several single, childless friends.  Our lives have about zilch in common, but they are fabulous women, and so it works.

Except when I try to gush about all the excitement that is planning Gavin's first birthday party (squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal!!!)  Because they?  Don't get it.  At. All.

They say (delusional) things, like, "I'm not going to throw my kids parties until they're at least four and old enough to appreciate all the work." And, "My kids are only going to have one toy each and they'll have to get rid of that one before they get a new one because I don't want kid crap all over my house."

Who does?  None of us want a house full of legos and Barbies and toy trucks, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut the trade off is that these things entertain and quite often teach our children motor skills, coordination, sharing, etc.

So, I roll my eyes at them and say (in that annoying "I used to be like you and now I know way more than you about this" voice), "Just wait."

I obviously know that Gavin a) will have no idea it's his birthday, b) is much happier with my pots and pans than anything I can buy him at the store and c) doesn't care a lick about a birthday party.  

They say the first birthday party is for the parents.  And it totally is.  A lot of ways selfishly (i.e. it's so much freaking fun to organize these things and hear "oh, wow, that was a great idea." blah, blah, blah).  

But why is it so much fun?  Because this party is in celebration of this life that you spend your days nurturing and loving and worrying over and praying for.  It's a calling together of family and friends to make note of just how much joy this little person has brought into your lives.  It's an outpouring of love in honor of all the milestones reached and the hugs given and the smiles created.  

That is why I know my friends who aren't parents yet are delusional.  Because it's true what they say about our inability to comprehend the love we will feel for our children until they are born.  Until they are a part of our lives.  We think we know how we will feel, and then we become parents, and that feeling is so much bigger than we ever could have imagined.  

Things that once seemed so important (like not having a house full of GI Joe's and crayon drawings) suddenly seem trivial.  The thought of not throwing a party for your one year old because they won't "appreciate it" is unfathomable.

For better or worse, bringing those little people into our lives changes us.  I don't know a single person who doesn't look at the entire world (not just their own small slice of it) differently since becoming a parent. I was watching a DVR'd recording of The Voice last night and heard a story about how a grown man had a motorcycle accident that nearly killed him.  I was instantly transported into his momma's kitchen when she got that phone call, and I ached for her (and I cried like a big 'ol baby cause that's how I do).

So, continue living in fantasy land my sweet friends with your still perfect bodies and your uninterrupted sleep and your notions that Disney-themed sneakers aren't in your future.  Enjoy your blissful ignorance while you can.

The rest of us have parties to plan and action figures to trip over in the middle of the night.