Five Minute Friday: Together

Today was birthday party day at our house.  We're not used to celebrating birthdays in the fall, but it's just as well because on this side of the equator, October lands us square in the middle of spring.

Stacey turned fifteen yesterday and today fourteen of her classmates joined her to celebrate.  The party started off kind of slow; Stacey had requested a scavenger hunt, and we didn't want everyone to leave the house before the last few had arrived.  So, the kids sat around, talked, and took turns playing Wii.  Virtual balls were bowled and hit, virtual cars were raced around virtual tracks, and real food was consumed.

Lots of it.

The schedule was changed (because so-and-so was late, and then because these four had to leave early for a band practice), and we ended up lighting the candles on the cake before the hunt instead of after.  These kids, several of whom are in my high school choir, sang what amounted to an impromptu dirge followed by a rather pathetic set of "hip-hip-hoorays," and then sugar was consumed.

Lots of it.

Finally, after ingesting the required energy, I sent them off on their merry way to gather random items, take random photos, and record random videos.

One hour and fifteen minutes later they returned, laughing and smiling, soaking wet from running around in the rain, with grass and mud covering their bare feet, and with items, pictures, and videos.

Lots of them.

While I downloaded them to the computer for playback, the kids gathered around the kitchen table to watch the birthday girl open her gifts.

"I love it that the bar is set so low," commented my husband with a smile.

He meant it, too.  I kid you not ...

A notepad and a set of rub-on tattoos.

A package of candy.

Fifteen kina (approximately $6.43).

A Smiggle eraser and another notepad.


A K10 (approx $4.28) pre-paid cell phone card.

A can of cherry coke.

And handmade cards.

Lots of them.



It wouldn't be out of the question for more than one of these gifts to have been re-gifted from a previous birthday party, either.

Awesome.


But, these kids don't care, which only makes it that much more awesome.  


So, what do these kids care about?

They spent the day together.

Written in conjunction with a community of writers who meet together weekly to write for five minutes on a prompt provided by Lisa Jo Baker.  Click the button above to learn more, read more entries, or join in the fun.