A birthday-- we are now in double digits!

I can't let the month of May slip away without a post! I have been away all month, but all about that later. A had a birthday this month, and I can't let THAT go unrecorded.

It has been 10 years now since I first set eyes on a warm, wriggly bundle with a shaggy mop of hair which was considering me seriously (It was an emergency caesarian and I was sedated enough to have fallen into a deep sleep soon after I heard her cry and the obstetrician, who is a friend, told me that I had a beautiful girl baby. So I saw her after she was all cleaned and wrapped up!)  with the biggest black eyes I've yet to see on a baby.

It has been a wonderful decade of motherhood, and there have been good times and bad times, none of which I would exchange for anything in the world, all memorable. I would have loved to hold on to all the moments and feel sad that they have to grow up so soon. How time flies!

As usual, my preparations started well in advance, before school closed for the vacation. I asked A to make a list of guests she wanted to invite, and to get relevant phone numbers (I had quite a few as most mothers are good friends) and email IDs. That took a few days, considering her friends are spread over different classes, as also some who are not from school.

Next I checked with the mothers if they were here in the vacations, and got a tentative headcount, as I had to give my caterer a fair idea of the numbers. Then for a theme and place. A and I were sure of one thing, we wanted someplace outdoors. "Something like a picnic, Aai!"

Our first choice was the Martin Farm but it was not available on the date we wanted. Then I considered the the Birthday Nature Walk that Starry had had for her daughter's birthday, but she had hers in January, with a more friendly sun, something that could be troublesome in May. Then a friend from my complex suggested a place that was owned and run by another friend of hers.

Bang in the middle of the city, behind Manipal hospital, was a playschool called The Green Pocket which also holds summer camps, and rents it out for birthdays, with a list of activities that one could choose from. The lady who runs it, Anahita Cooper, is really sweet and helpful, and we hit it off from the word go. But what clinched it for me was that the moment I stepped in there, I heard cuckoos in the chickoo orchard and a rooster crowing loudly, transporting me back to summers of childhood spent at our native place playing in mango orchards by little brooks with the only sounds those of birds and monkeys in the trees, bullocks lowing in fields nearby and the chatter of all us children.

A clump of green

So 'The Green Pocket' was on, a tentative headcount was done, and I had a talk with Mallika, the caterer who has catered for all A's birthdays, except the one when she was 8, when I had a cooking party, and the children made their own pizzas, and we gave away aprons as return gifts.

After that, it was all long distance, as we shifted base to Mumbai for 5 weeks of the vacation (will soon do a post on all the fun we had there- kept seriously offline for most of the time) and we were due back just 2 days before the birthday. So phone calls to all guests were made from there.

Then followed last minute phone calls and mails to Mallika and Anahita, for all the details. Return gifts had been bought and packed before leaving for Mumbai. So all we had to do was bake the cake (She wanted me to bake it this year. Some of our guests do not eat egg. So we decided to make an eggless, maida-less wholewheat flour cake- satisfied my yearning for healthier options wherever possible.)



Kids on a treasure hunt

The kids ran riot. There was a treasure hunt organised and conducted by Anahita, and a visit to PetStepin, a pet care centre next doors, for those who loved animals. There were dogs, and rabbits to pick up and feed, and of course, the rooster. There were huge mango trees laden with raw and ripening mangoes, with tire swings hanging by sturdy ropes. There was a tree house to climb up onto. There were scores of chickoo, sitaphal and mango trees laden with fruit, and some of those delicious, mini gooseberries, what we call raiawala  in marathi. There were also squirrels, running around quite used to having children around them. The children were strictly told NOT to feed any animals, except for the rabbits, and even those were to be fed the leaves that were provided. They loved it all!

Petting animals at PetStepin

Then we had cucumber-and-cheese sandwiches, pizzas made on whole wheat bases, boiled corn with salt and butter, (the ubiquitous) chips from Hot Chips and cake. And of course, the ice lollies. These were unlimited, and I was proud of A for resisting them! (She had been a bit unwell for some days, and had been asked to keep off the ice lollies.)

Anahita had earlier asked me to send her a photo of A, and she had made a Happy Birthday banner using it, on which all the guests could write their message. That is going to be a prized possession. Especially as one of the girls who wrote on it (and drew horns on A's picture, which were later made into a tiara!) is a special friend, and is moving to another school, and will be sorely missed.

All friends who were invited came, except for one very close friend W, who is out of town, and was sorely missed. And the gifts- people have been very thoughtful while gifting, and we have a rope ladder from Sutradhar (no prizes for guessing who gave that!), a pair of adjustable skates, gift vouchers to book shops (but of course!) an architectural kit (from Artnavy) an amazing board game based on the Harry Potter series, called CLUE, and much more.

Return gifts? We picked up folders from Gurjari, embroidered beautifully in their characteristic style, with each child's name painted along the edge by A. And of course, folders couldn't be given empty- so each one contained a book that the particular child may enjoy- again picked by A. And just books for some younger kids.

Next year- she has already told me- she will be doing everything from the planning stage onwards. I need to only facilitate her plans.

Sure, sweetheart! And may you have many more!