Nine is Divine

In a blur of swords, blue cupcakes and presents, the twins turned nine. Both requested Percy Jackson parties this year. One twin (and parents) wanted a combined party but the other twin wanted a separate party. In the crazed spirit of compromise, we ended up having two Percy Jackson parties with one of those parties extending into a Percy Jackson sleep-over. Luckily, we had the twins’ godmother in town to help keep everyone entertained and to boost morale during the mid-parties lull.

Since moving to Germany, the kids have gotten into the Percy Jackson series….perhaps looking everywhere for a Harry Potter replacement. The books are about Percy, a boy born to one Olympian and one mortal parent, and the many quests he undertakes to fulfill his destiny. I like the books as they really drill home the Greek myths. Our kids can argue about who is a major and minor Greek god persuasively. And the books are packed with adventure. Hence, the sword fighting and shield making during the twins’ parties. The blue food is another Percy insider joke, something Percy’s mother always made for him on his birthday. We had sword play. We searched for the missing Golden Fleece. We had more sword play. And we survived.

It was a relief to look around at both birthday parties and to realize that yes, the kids survived not only the party but the year. There were too many moves in the past year. A new country, a new culture, a new language but thankfully new friends as well.  As the twins’ new friends chatted, we learned that a number of them would be moving this year or next. While I felt a pang of sadness that the new friend was already leaving, none of the kids seemed fazed, and especially not our kids. One girl said she would live in Munich another year, then America one year, and then South Korea. The old adage of a door opening and a door closing came into my mind. An old friend leaves, a new friend comes. It is a little crazy, a little new world economy, a little global nomads but at least today they all left with party bags, stuffed with blue candy.