Every year brings an invite to the neighborhood block party. Every year, it’s the same. Same dishes-to-pass. Same folks. Same chit-chat, acknowledging it’s been a year since we’ve talked. A whole lotta same-ole, same-ole. Except for the times it was epic, like when the fire department showed up and blasted water down the street. Or the times it flopped, like when I made rice pilaf from a Heading to a BBQ? cookbook. Same-ole, same-ole, mixed with the stuff everyone is still talking about.
That’s block parties for you. And that’s Motherhood. A lot of the mundane – same meals, same spills, same you-know-the-drills – mixed together with epic memories and epic flops.
Small talk, because the smalls are easy to talk about. Shared stories – not because you were there, but because you’ve been there. Laughter, because when you take this motherhood gig too seriously, you need to reset. Photos that speak a thousand words. Scratch that, a million. Trying and trying again – it’s the stuff #pinterestfails are made of. Making friends – friends who are years ahead of you and right there next to you. Meeting that new friend who instantly gets you. And the folks who’ve come from three ‘hoods over, just because they enjoy this crowd.
Epic memories, epic flops and everything in between. Motherhood is a block party.
Motherhood could be a tea party, a cocktail party, a dinner party, a surprise party, a goodbye party, a cast party or a pity party. But, tea parties are small, cocktail parties are snobby, dinner parties are stiff, surprise parties are stressful, goodbye parties are sad, cast parties are exclusive and pity parties are, well, pitiful. Block parties are anything-goes. Come as you are. Bring what you’ve got. Spend it in a serious convo or bowled over in laughter. Hang with the kids or hide with the adults. Sit, stand, swim – whatever your fancy. Block parties are a one-size-fits-all affair. There’s room for everyone.
Motherhood is a block party. And this Block Party has fun for the kids, for the parents and for those amazing friends who stick around even in spite of us having children. You never quite know what the Block Party will be like on any given day. Stop back often to catch the epic, the flopic and everything in between. The MhBP may have been raging for a while, but we’re just getting started. Pull up a lawn chair, fill your plate and soak in the atmosphere. These are your people. This is your party.
