The plans are underway. We have exactly a week to go. Been talking about this for a year…seems like the day would never come.

Today’s Sweet 16’s have come a long way since I was “Sweet” (yes I was at one time). You can go from the ridiculous to the sublime with planning. I have tried to stay somewhere in between. Not only because I didn’t want to have to take out an equity loan on my house to pay for it, but I am trying to keep it in perspective. It is a birthday. There wasn’t some type of skill involved with getting to this date, just kinda had to keep flipping pages over on the calendar. It is special, I know. But I also have two younger brothers around here who are now wondering what boys get on their 16th birthday. I heard someone mention “Sour Sixteens” for boys. Let’s hope that trend doesn’t come around these parts any time soon.

We have invited half the known population of our town to this shindig. Not to mention every relative from great-grandmother to “cousins” not blood related. But deep down that makes me happy. I offered my Sweet 16 the option of getting more bells and whistles and keeping the guest list to a minimum. She opted for less bells and whistles and inviting the free world. She wants her family there. That makes me happy. Lots of girls her age want nothing to do with their families. Not her. That makes me proud. I am proud that we have instilled the importance of family in her.

We both agree that many of the people coming though they are friends they are our family of choice. (not that we don’t love the ones we got without asking for) These people know us. They know what we go through on a regular basis. She baby-sits their children; they listen to teenage stories I tell to prepare them for when they have teenagers in their homes. We vacation with them. They know what goes on daily in our lives.

Next week is crunch time…I am sure I will have more fodder for blogging then