The Wrong Ava

When my son came home with a Frozen birthday party invitation, I was unfazed. It was not the first Frozen party he would be attending!! It was for Ava, from his class. I knew Ava, I thought. Her mom was at the Thanksgiving feast, and I talked with her. I emailed our response, that we would be attending and 'Thank you for the invite.' I never heard back, but I figured that was OK. We picked out a gift, that she would 'definitely like' and J made her a handmade card with stickers. 

The party was on Saturday at 3 pm. I knew the location well, because we take swim classes there. J and I walked in at 3 pm. We walked past a sign that said, "Ava's 7th Birthday, in the Big Gym!" So into the gym we went, and he said, "I don't see her." I told him that I was sure she was there, go play and look for her. I looked around at the other moms, trying to find a friendly face. No one looked even vaguely familiar. When I realized who the party host was, I figured that my son (who is horrible with names, like his mother) probably had the wrong Ava. 

Ten minutes later, a familiar face walks in the door and heads UPSTAIRS. At this point, J is fully immersed in the other party. Lined up with the girls, walked upstairs to have cake, sat down at the pink table... and I realize WRONG PARTY! I stood at the door, and called him to come to me. "We were at the wrong party, silly!" and he laughs it off, and joins his friends in the other party. 

Photo courtesy of Zoloft

Part of me is mortified. Because I work, and I am never at school- maybe I was just really out of it. Maybe no one would look familiar. Maybe, just maybe, I am THAT out of J's day-to-day life that I do not know a single person that he hangs out with. I felt really alone, sitting on that bench watching him smile and make new friends. He fit in just fine, at the wrong party. What a great kid! 

At the 'right' party, I tell the other moms how I screwed up. Silly me. I was not that out-of-sync with my son, I knew several of the moms from his 1st grade class. It was just the wrong Ava.

Then, we went home and put on our Halloween costumes for the rest of the day...

P.S. J was one of only two 'special' boys who were invited, and the hug shared between J and Ava was the cutest thing I have ever seen. It made me think that I must be doing SOMETHING right!