A Wild Weekend

I just got home after spending the last three days in San Diego. There are many places to go there such as the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Sea World and Lego Land. I just spent the long weekend at a Bat Mitzvah.

The ceremony itself only took an hour and a half, but there were three parties following it. I'm exhausted. Eating, drinking from open bars, eating, smiling, eating, talking and eating is hard work. I've never seen so much food.

I can't believe how much money people can spend on a kid party with 200 guests. The party was a beach theme with palm tree balloons and dolphin balloons against a back drop of surf boards sitting upright in the sand. A fish bowl with a live fish was on each table and the table linens were all in sea blues and greens. The people running the party dressed like lifeguards and carried the Bat Mitzvah girl into the event while she sat on a surf board.

It was all dramatic and interesting to watch at first. The first dance was the Hora which deteriorated into kids running as fast as possible around the circle. The adults started stepping back to get out of the way. There was one more dance where everyone had to dance back to back and then the adults had to leave the dance floor.

The party was for the hosts' daughter, so the kids played dancing party games on the dance floor with the "lifeguards" directing them. The adults were excluded and so just sat at their tables. The music was so deafening that conversation was impossible. That meant that the adults could only just sit and watch 13 year old kids running around and shrieking. I know that I'm 51, but I would have liked to play too.

I entertained myself by drinking. If it had been a buffet instead of a sit-down dinner, I would have eaten all evening instead. The next day at the last party, I heard the complaints about the adults being excluded from the fun. I guess I wasn't the only one who felt left out. I do understand the hosts thinking, though. They wanted their daughter to have a great time and for this to be her party, not just some adult event. In a couple of years, the hosts will have to do another party for their son. Where do people get that kind of money?