Party?

We celebrated Isaac's first and second birthdays by throwing big parties here at our house. Now that his third birthday is just about a month away, I had been assuming that it was time to start planning another party. But whenever I casually asked Isaac about it, he never seemed that interested. When pressed, sometimes he would name a friend or two as a possible guest, but never with enthusiasm.

This weekend we went to a playgroup friend's birthday party, so on the way home, while parties were fresh in everyone's mind, I asked Isaac if he wanted to have a party too.

"Yes," he said. I asked him who he wanted to invite. "Mama, and Dad, and Isaac," he said. Surprised, I asked him if he also wanted to invite his grandparents, or his aunt and uncle. "No," he said. "Just Mama and Dad and Isaac."

He has stuck to this exclusive guest list for the last two days, so now I have to make a decision. Do I respect his choice? Or do I throw a party anyway? I like having a big birthday party for him!

Honestly, Isaac doesn't like large gatherings, so it's not like he would even enjoy a big birthday party. He couldn't express this when he was just one or two years old, but now that he's almost three, he's certainly old enough to know what he likes. I guess it's time I realized that his birthday is now about him, the person who was born, rather than about me, the person who gave birth to him.

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Yes, I could wait until my birthday and throw myself a big party instead. But I'll be turning 39, and I'll be eight months pregnant. I might not feel much like celebrating.