Triple X

I started this blog talking about birthdays – relatives' as well as my own – and how they're good times for reflection and all that. After a brief break from cake and ice cream, it was back into full birthday mode recently when Brooke turned thirty.

Over the last few weeks I'd been conspiring with her Mom and a couple of her friends to plan a soirée worthy of the momentous occasion. We ruled out a surprise party early on because, as a typical spotlight-stealing only child, I didn't think Brooke would buy any cover story that played down our event planning. After settling on a date, time and venue, we set about recruiting attendees using one of mankind's finest creations, Evite.com.

Evite is a fantastic resource for publicizing an event, but I feel like the ephemeral nature of online communication encourages a casual attitude towards attendance. Not by much, but I'm old enough to remember when party invitations were sent via mail and a formal response was requested. The paper notecard was evidence of the party planners' efforts as well as a nice reminder for the attendees of the date and time to which they committed. With Evite, responding to an invitation is a simple click ... but it's also just as easy to forget about.

On a related note, Evite might as well do away with the "Maybe" response option. This is for people who know damn well they won't attend but feel guilty declining the invitation outright. It has been proven using science that nobody who uses the "Maybe" response ever shows up. What's more mystifying, however, was the girl who confirmed her attendance saying "Wouldn't miss it for the world!" and then proceed to do exactly that. Orbis non sufficit, apparently.

I didn't care about a large headcount for its own sake – my concern was making sure the birthday girl had a good time. To that end, I stressed about the party enough for it to guest star in my dreams twice during the preceding week. The nice thing about getting wound so tightly over this stuff is the amplified relief once the event is a success, which this most certainly was. Great turnout and great cupcakes at a great venue.

The fun continued through dinner on Monday, which was Brooke's actual 30th birthday. We used the occasion to finally try a new Vietnamese restaurant in the area. It did not disappoint despite our concerns about the only people in the place (I claimed I rented out the whole joint but Brooke didn't buy it).

The extra attention we received from the staff included complimentary espresso martinis served with our cheesecake dessert. The drinks came equipped with neat cookie straws ... which, needless to say, was a special treat for a spry gal of just one score and ten years old.