We Aren't Really Party People

My father is retiring in January. He's worked for the same medical group since he finished his residency in 1975. My father has never missed a day of work due to weather. He's been a valued part of the hospital and I'm constantly told how wonderful he is.

To celebrate his retirement my sister started planning a party for him. A gathering where we would invite all of his coworkers, and all of our family, and my parent's friends to celebrate his long and productive career. She started planning the party..., until she talked to my dad about it. And he thanked her for the idea but said, "we're not really party people."

When my sister told me what he'd said I was a little surprised. My dad is outgoing, often the one telling jokes at any gathering. But at the same time this is true. We aren't party people. As a family it is rare for us to have a party. I know my parents had their friends over when we were younger but it was never what I would call a party. Birthday parties normally took place at a location outside the house (think Chuck E. Cheese). And tonight we'll be going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday.

It's strange but I don't feel like I missed out on anything by not having parties when we were younger. I'm more than happy to celebrate life events with a good dinner and some time with family. I'm introverted enough that parties are stressful and I often want to flee shortly after arriving. It's not that I don't like people, I just get overwhelmed. I think my childhood would have been stressful had we been party people. But we aren't. So we'll celebrate my dad's retirement with a family gathering, getting all the kids together for a weekend. And tonight, I'll celebrate my birthday with a glass of wine and a great dinner. And that sounds perfect.

Holiday Parties Done Right

I've had a couple holiday parties this year. I had a work party which my boss provides for us. It was a lot of fun but my work group is not very close knit so I need a few drinks to get me through. I had a potluck party that I was hosting so that was a lot more stress and work than normal. We've had other parties that were mostly just sitting around talking. And those were fun. But my favorite party so far was the one last night. The one that took place entirely at my computer.

My guild for World of Warcraft has monthly meetings and they are always a lot of fun. But the holiday party was great. We got dressed up in our winter gear (for me just a hat so far) and played Hide and Seek. Jeff has always said that it is more fun to play games while talking. And this was definately the case. We started out in Shattrath gathered in a group. The officers of the guild were not there though. They were already hiding in each of the main cities. We had nine people stashed away in Ironforge, Stormwind, Darnassus, The Exodar, Dalaran, and Shattrath. They were all hidden by trees and they were all dancing. (that didn't always make them easier to find) The rule was we had to find all nine and open trade with them. Then they gave us a present. (and some nice gifts too. I got enough gems to socket my gear) The first three to complete the entire race got prizes. (Really nice prizes). Now I have to say that there are a lot of hiding places in those cities. I should know I scoured each of them last night. I even got to go to a city I'd never been to before (The Exodar).

I'll tell you that I didn't win. I didn't even come close but I had a ball. Guildies were running everywhere, chatting, and posting about our presents. The officers, if we ran past, would tease us until we found them. It was great. And easily the best holiday party I have had this year. I'm sure my sister who reads this will tease me (goodhumoredly) about how much of a geek I am but in a family that's motto is "embrace your nerdiness" it won't be too taken too seriously. And I still had a blast.