The Epic

Somehow Lux convinced us to celebrate her birthday at our home with 20+ kids, a few pizzas, and some snacks.  I am still trying to figure out when, exactly, we agreed to this.  Im pretty sure we started out with a firm "you're crazy," then after some negotiating on her part we moved to "let's talk about what this would entail." The next thing I knew I was surrounded by children bigger than me, some of whom I had never seen before in my life, half drunken soda cans everywhere, pizza crusts and candy wrappers proclaiming "it's all happening!" Oh, and did I mention we somehow agreed to making this a 4 hour event? No, I didnt, because frankly, what would that say about the parents of this tween?

The Epic Event actually began Wednesday, her "real" birthday.  Because when you are a Corrona, you celebrate the actual day you were born or the rest of the partying is in vain.  It means nothing. It is a wild lie.  And Lux is so much me, but so, so much Corrona, and celebrating means something.  It means fun, and happiness, and good times, and food, and recognition and memories. And I love this. I absolutely love this about my family, because it has made every special event that much more special and that much more of an event.  And the memories--such great memories--of hilarious moments, and lovely moments, and never-to-be-recreated-moments, are the highlights of my life! It is sooooo worth it! The problem is, I am not a natural born Corrona.  Dont get me wrong, I am a meaningful and important part of the family.  But this is all learned behavior for me.  It is not an innate part of my being.  It does not come naturally to me, although I have a very full and complete understanding of what must take place.  Those born "Corrona" have "The Epic" coursing thru their veins.  It is inbred.  They know how to throw a party.

So back to Wednesday.  I had used what little, left over party decor I had to decorate the front room.  Of course, she had already decorated her own room and door the night before because, well, she is a Corrona.  And she was preparing herself in case someone, i.e. me, did not plan for the day in a manner that fit with her expectations.  She even kindly wrote me a note and placed it on my pillow saying something to the effect of "Enjoy these last few minutes of me being 10. Tomorrow I will be 11!" And I appreciated the note because it did remind me to go add a few touches to what I had done.  She awakened to much singing and dancing and carrying on, had a brownie, and was off to school.

Thursday and Friday were those days in between the actual birthday and the big party that are used for continuing the celebration.  There was dinner out, and a special movie night...look, the girl was after whatever she could get on account of "it was her birthday." So by Friday night memories had been made, the house was clean, candies and sodas were purchased, kids were excited, and Nate and I were bracing for the storm. We likened it to preparing for a hurricane.  You get your supplies, block off certain parts of the house that are most precious, allow the strongest areas to take the most beating, hunker down on all fours, and hold on. And that is what we did.

In the end, the trampoline sustained the most damage, poor thing.  And the swing was broken. Zaine had had a meltdown midway thru and retreated to her bedroom, sobbing.  I said something like, "Zaine, we just have to get thru this," and she said, "I cant. I just cant." I think there was even a dramatic hanging of the head involved.  She emerged a half hour later to follow me around and point out the ever increasing destruction of the trampoline. (Poor Zaine, while so Corrona, is so so much me...)

But Lux, that beautiful girl, that girl with such a lust for life, embraced every moment of it to the fullest. She made it all she wanted it to be, pushing as closely as she could up to the edges of what we would allow.  And as crazy and chaotic and exhausting and ridiculous as it was, it was a party to remember. I am, and I am sure will forever be, inspired by that girl.