Boons' Happiest Day
Yesterday, Khôi sent invitations to the whole class to come to his birthday party at a pizza place.
More than half the class showed up.
After we finished getting ready, Dad called a ride for the two of us to go to the address on the invitation.
Dad had plans with a friend, so he didn't come with us.
This was the first time Boons and I went to a classmate's birthday party outside of school.
It was also the first time I met a bunch of the other moms from class.
The funny thing is, the kids had just seen each other at school barely an hour before.
But as soon as they saw each other at the pizza place, they all got so excited, like they hadn't seen each other all summer. 😄
Some of the moms took the chance to gently "complain" about some of Boons' mischief at school.
All I could do was give a sheepish smile.
And when I looked over, the culprit didn't seem interested in changing his ways at all.
He was still himself, the wildest one in the group.
When it was time for everyone to take pictures with the birthday cake, Boons got so excited he almost jumped right into the cake, so Khôi's older brother had to grab him to save both the group and the cake.
Then, when it was time to eat cake, Boons came up with the idea to smear chocolate frosting all over his teeth and grin as wide as he could.
Everyone at the table laughed so hard they almost burst.
After eating, the kids ran around playing tag all over the mall.
Watching them, I had pretty mixed feelings.
Part of me felt a little embarrassed, like:
— Why does my kid seem like... the wildest one here?
But the other part of me was just happy too.
Because honestly, everyone laughed so much the whole time.
On the way home, Boons said:
— This is the happiest day ever, Mom. It's the first time my class has hung out together outside like this.
I was a little surprised to hear that.
He wasn't even the birthday kid.
It wasn't his birthday at all.
He just got to see his friends outside of school, eat pizza, eat cake, run around, and then go home.
But it made him so happy, he put it right up there as:
— The happiest day.
A kid who's just starting to have his own friendships, his own joys, a little world opening up beyond our family.
His happiness is just these tiny little things.
But somehow... it's enough to make my day happy too. 🌱✨
