Exhausted (but happy)

Mark's birthday drew to a close last night. Some birthday celebrations are like a quick sprint; Mark's was more of a marathon.

We started on his actual birthday, when I let him choose the restaurant for dinner. He immediately chose Taco Bell, so I slowly and repeatedly told him he could go anywhere. I included restaurants with wait staff, multiple courses, and maybe even a tablecloth. But Mark is a simple guy who leans more toward dollar menus and swiveling chairs bolted into the floor, so Taco Bell it was.

The weekend brought with it guests and more celebrating. First, it was my brother Scott and his family. They filled our little house with kids, laughter, and a staggered bathroom schedule (7 people, one small bathroom -- gotta love those '50s homes!).

Sunday was party day! My parents arrived around 11 a.m. and immediately started heating up lunch. Apparently, the two-hour drive is not only time-consuming but hunger-inducing as well.

We packed up the kids and ditched the grandparents, explaining again to Mark it was not personal. My parents love a good party, but they prefer their guests a little older. Two hours of video games and boys running amok are not their idea of a good time.

The party was at a local video arcade. I watched as 13 boys walked into the arcade and their eyes glazed over (it was definitely a gender thing -- my nieces were immune). The video games transfixed them, hypnotized them, and I had to snap my fingers to get their attention and pass out the game cards.

And then they were off. They scattered into 27 different directions -- some toward the shooting games, some to car-racing games and some to laser tag. I watched them fly by me at breakneck speeds -- apparently, it is impossible to walk in a video arcade.

I hung out with my cousin for a bit, and with my friends. A couple moms lingered for a few minutes, but the good thing about boys this age is they're old enough to drop off for a couple hours. I told one mom I was sure that as long as those cards were working, there was no danger of any boys wandering away.

After an hour, the cards ran out, and the boys returned to the table, sweaty and red-faced from laser tag. They were not interested in lunch at all; instead, they spent the time mixing sodas into toxic sludge, and begging me to re-activate their game cards.

I spent the next 20 minutes repeating these sentences ad nauseum:

"Pepperoni or cheese pizza?"
"The cards will be re-activated after lunch."
"Root beer, Pepsi, or lemonade? You really want all three mixed together??"
"The cards will be re-activated after lunch."
"Cake or no cake?"
"The cards will be re-activated after lunch. I promise!"

And then, finally, when I thought they couldn't stand one minute more, I announced, "Now we'll sing 'Happy Birthday' to Mark and have cake. Then the cards will be re-activated!"

I saw 10 mouths pop open, so I quickly added, "You don't have to eat the cake, but you do have to sing Happy Birthday!"

Two minutes later they were sufficiently hopped up on sugar, and I released them back into the arcade. I didn't see any of them again until their moms showed up and dragged them away, protesting that they still had time left on their game cards. Three boys even managed to outsmart the two-hour time limit by slipping into the laser tag area. Their moms said good-bye, when someone announced another round of laser tag was starting in a frequency heard only by 10-year-old boys. The three wily boys were back inside in no time.

I grabbed the leftover ice cream cake and my exhausted young son and headed home. I seriously could have gone to bed right then, I was so tired from our weekend o' fun. But we still had one more celebration -- dinner out with my parents, Kathleen and Tim. It was a calm, relaxing, wonderful way to end a really great birthday.

Which I won't have to repeat for a while. Because, as my mom pointed out to Mark this morning, today is March 1st.

"Your birthday month is officially over," she said and he answered, "Dang!"

Until next year...