My parents’ 50th wedding anniversary is this June. My Mom started planning their party about a month ago, but being a middle child who wants to make everyone happy, she kept changing her mind and driving my poor dad crazy. Yes Teacher, this is where I get it from. I know it was stressful and frustrating for Mom and Dad, but from my perspective it was slightly entertaining because every time I heard something about the party it was different:
“Grandma said they’re going to rent the pavilion at the park and have a huge cook out…”
“Since they’re having an Open House for 100-some people that Sunday…”
“I thought they were having a sit-down dinner for immediate family at a restaurant…”
“It’s going to be a family picnic on Saturday and Open House on Sunday…”
See – every time was different!
Then the joke was on me – Mom said “I was thinking about your grandparents’ 50th Anniversary party… All they did was show up and provide the funds; my sister and I did all the planning.”
Can you guess where this is going?
Yup, Mom and Dad asked Uncle Jay, Uncle Ike and I to plan their 50th Anniversary celebration.
Mom described our reactions like this:
Amy said “Tell us what you want and we’ll figure out how to do it.”
Jay said “Yippee, a party! Is that all the people you’re inviting?”
Ike said “Let’s make it easy for everyone.”
Teacher said “Let me know what you need me to do.”
Elle said “I know people we can borrow stuff from. “
Dee said “I’m great at saving money and finding great deals on things.”
At first I was worried about all the decisions that would have to be made, but Mom and Dad wrote their requests, suggestions and thoughts in a little notebook I call their “List of Demands” that’s going to be super helpful. The budget is tight, but they decided on a backyard picnic for family and a few close friends, so it should be do-able. And with the six of us working together I know it’ll be great!
