Birthday party blues

16 March 2003 ~ 22:23

We�d bought some helium balloons to decorate the living room with that had on them �Happy Birthday� and pictures of rats jumping out of a birthday cake�rats that don�t you know it, looked more like our youngest rat Sky than the birthday girls themselves!�but still, quite appropriate. I�d also bought some paper plates, cups and napkins with �Happy Birthday� and multicoloured balloons on them, and some scatter confetti that said �Happy Birthday.� Of course, we�d bought the piece de resistance�a lovely birthday cake decorated with pink icing and a marzipan figure of Angelina Ballerina (the cartoon dancing mouse). It was a lovely sponge cake with jam and butter cream icing.

Our friends Anne and Martin were due to arrive at about six o�clock. At five, I got a call from Anne to say that Martin, who suffers from acute arthritis, despite only being in his thirties, had collapsed in the bath with a severe attack and was totally unable to get in the car to navigate their way across London for her. I told Mark and my mum, who had also been invited to the party, �It would be just our luck if Jane (our other friend) can�t make it either.�

Earlier in the day, we went shopping and bought nuts and crisps, made lots of sandwiches, and my mum had made lots of cheese rolls. I bought lots to drink, including ten bottles of Spanish beer.

Sure enough, at around six o�clock, Jane phoned to say that her dad had collapsed and they�d had to call the doctor. Her dad has terminal cancer, which has spread to his bones (and he�s under the care of a hospice at the moment, though still living at home). What could I do but say that I hoped he�d get better soon, exactly the same thing I�d said to Anne.

It was really disappointing that we went to such an effort and nobody to see it. Even Stella and Luna didn�t seem keen to come out of the cage, but Sky kept jumping on top of the table, even stealing away with one of the cheese rolls. So back into the cage she went for being such a pest!

However, the party cannot be viewed as a total failure, because the rats went absolutely mad for the cake and they ate up a little bit of everything else that we gave them. And between the three of us, we did manage to finish off the food, except for the cake, which was really huge.

For Sky�s first birthday on the 20th of November, needless to say, it will be just Mark and I, possibly Mum (and possibly also Mark�s mum who may be here at the time), and a nice cake. We�ll not go to so much trouble again.


Stored nuts | Future acorns