Party Farty

I'm a bit tired today. I threw my annual backyard party yesterday. I was, of course, up late because who can sleep right after throwing an party? I'm usually in bed by 11:30 PM -ish but last night that was more like 1:30 AM-ish. Being a morning person I was up at my normal 7 AM. I just can't sleep late. Hence my sleepiness. I'll be taking a nap later on. I'm pro-nap.

I often spend the afternoon after my party watching a movie or two. I normally don't sit down and watch movies or TV. I'll often have the TV on as I'm drawing, painting, or working. I listen to the TV more than I watch it. Maybe once every week or two I'll actually sit down and watch a movie. But the day after my party I'm extra tired so all I have the energy for is sitting and watching.

Throwing a party is a much different experience than attending one. That's because you have things to do. You are throwing a party after all. You have to keep things organized, bring stuff out, answer queries, and clean up a bit as you go. Plus socialize with everyone. When attending a party you're just hanging out with whoever. That's a little breezier.

My friends are pretty easy to throw a party for. We've all known each other for a long time and have all thrown and attended many parties together. My friend Bunche is usually at my event. He will come up early and cook stuff (pulled pork, ribs chicken, whatever he feels like) and then man the grill for a while. He couldn't make it this year but I have a lot of friend who can grill well. Anyone who wants to takes a turn grilling up some, burgers, dogs, chicken, and sausage. Things went smoothly as the charcoal burned all day and I was free to run around and host.

It's always amazing to me the irrational thoughts that go through one's mind when hosting a party. The first is "Will anyone show up"? It doesn't matter that you know people will show up. You will still think that. Every host does. This is my fifteenth or sixteenth annual party and I have about the same number of people show up every year. Around thirty plus. And still the "Will anyone show up"? thought enters my head every year. I can pretty much ignore it but it still exists.

The second irrational though is, "Will there be enough food"? We all know this one. Every host at every party fears running out of food. It's truly universal. Often the fear is verbalized. Usually at parties my friends and I have attended or thrown there is a ton of food left over. Guests bring food with them and the host usually overestimates the amount of food for fear of running out. I have plenty of stores nearby and can always run out and get more food at a moments notice so running out of stuff is not really a problem. But still the thought enters my head. You can't stop irrationality. It has a mind of its own.

The third irrational thought is "Are my guests having fun"? Everyone is clearly hanging out with their friends and having a good time but that doesn't stop this though from entering your head. If you are an attendee of the party and you're having fun and this thought never enters you mind. As a matter of fact throwing a party is the only time this thought will ever enter your brain. I've heard many a party host nervously ask a guest if everyone is having a good time. Yet if a group of friends are out at diner, hanging in the park, or at a night spot this question never enters anyones' mind. You have to be hosting a party and think yourself responsible for your guests' enjoyment for this thought to be thunk.

I think I had about the right amount of food this year. There were some leftovers but not a ton of them. That's good. There have been some years when I could have thrown another party the next day with all the leftovers. That's a little bit too much to deal with.

Drinks are a funny thing too. When we were all in out twenties a lot of my friends were big drinkers. Cases and cases of beer were drunk at my party. Then sometime in our early thirties everyone's beer consumption went way down. But their beer purchasing didn't. I'd end up with cases and cases of beer after the party. It took three or four years for things to adjust themselves.

Drinks have changed a bit more now that a lot of my friends are entering their forties. Plenty of juice boxes for the kids and lots of soft drinks left over. Now it's the bottles of water that always run out first. Everybody drinks less sweet soft drinks than before and more water. That hasn't quite adjusted itself yet.

A lot of my friends help with the clean up at the end of the night. packing food up, bringing things inside, folding up chairs, and bringing things into he kitchen. This always helps make the night a little earlier. Of course I'll always be up late anyway because who can sleep after throwing a party? Now I'm back to the beginning. maybe I'll go lay down.