Another sign that I'm feeling so much better...

I meant to post this at the end of October, but I'm just getting a chance now...

I spent most of the month of October planning my son's birthday party in excruciating, almost ridicilous, detail. It was awesome. I spent hours on the invitation. I even included little refrigerator magnets, with artwork that matched the invitation, with a reminder about the date and time. I received so many comments back from folks saying: "That's the most creative birthday party invite I've ever seen!" And, "Are you a professional graphic designer?" (OK, and yes, that made me feel really good.) (Hey, we all like to have our egos fed.)

Originally, Alex had wanted a "Winnie the Pooh" party, but then he really got into Star Wars, and wanted a Star Wars party. This was fine with me, as of the two, Star Wars was a more fun theme to work with. (OK, namely because I loved Star Wars as a kid.)

I'd already purchased a Winnie the Pooh pinata, but no problem. Alex and I painted Winnie the Pooh black, added a mask and a cape, and created "Darth Pooh." It looked great! Here's a streaming video of Alex and the neighborhood kids stuffing candy into Darth Pooh in preparation for the party. http://www.youtube.com/?v=6Umgvyr-IIk

I invited all the kids from the neighborhood to the party, along with some of Alex's favorite friends from his pre-school and church.

After the invites went out, Alex's party was the talk of the neighborhood kids. One of the parents' down the street commented that her kids were more excited about Alex's birthday then they had been about their own. I was tickled pink that Alex's birthday was turning into this happy event being shared by all the kids! The anticipation leading up to the party was marvelous!

I started decorating the house the week of the party. I did a Google "Images" search on Star Wars imagery, and not just movie shots, but customized artwork created by fans. There's some amazing artwork out there! Shots of X-Wings in front of nebulas and fiery planets, and all manner of beautiful visuals.

Somehow, I stumbled across a website with music created by Star Wars fan. I downloaded some, and loved it. I decided then that as a "goodie bag" gift, I would give everyone a souvenir copy of the "Alex Party Soundtrack." The soundtrack contained 22 Star Wars songs-- a couple of which were the John Williams classics from the movies, but the rest were these marvelously clever renditions created by fans.

I'll admit that working on Alex's party almost became something obsessive, but the amazing part was that I had the energy to do it. In between getting my freelance work done, taking Alex to preschool, and trying to hit the gym a few times a week, I still had all this energy to expend on his party.

The week leading up to this party I worked constantly from morning to night on detail after detail. It was just awesome to have that level of energy again. I haven't had that kind of energy for a long, long time.

There was a chance of rain forecast for the day of the party, which would have been disastorous, as the whole party was set up to be an outdoor party-- but fortune shined on us. The weather cleared, and it ended up being a beautiful day. Picture perfect.

We had a giant slide set up in the front yard-- I mean, giant. This was an inflatable slide that towered above the house. In the backyard was the standard bounce house. The slide was the real hit, though. The kids just loved it! The party lasted eight hours! (The invites said 12-3 PM, but we said we didn't mind if people stayed later. The fact that the party lasted as long as it did showed it was a heck of a good party.) :)

Here's a short streaming video of Alex and some of the neighborhood kids thump, thump, thumping down the giant slide...

If there was any sign that my fibromyalgia has gotten significantly better in the past year, this was it. What a triumph! My son just loved it, and I felt so good to be able to celebrate his birthday in such a fun manner. (The neighborhood kids are already asking what we have in mind for next year.) :)