Three is a Magic Number

Oh, to be three again. To want nothing more from your birthday than a day at the park spent swinging, having some snacks, and frolicking with a few friends. To find as much joy in brightly-colored gift bags and birthday card envelopes as you do with what they hold inside. To be able to amuse yourself for hours after the party's over with a helium-filled balloon. And to take away so much glee from these things as to still be expressing days later how much fun you had and what a perfectly wonderful birthday it had been.

All Zienna wanted for her third birthday, as she began telling me and Kelly months ago, was a party like the one I just described. I went so far as to try and convince her to have her shindig at Chuck E. Cheese instead—an idea her big sister latched on to and would not let go of. But Zienna wanted nothing to do with it. Simplicity was all she desired. And so, armed with balloons, party hats and horns, and some kid-friendly beverages to ward off the heat, we descended upon the park down the hill—the one with an enclosed play area for preschoolers that Zienna loves—on Tuesday morning. There, we met up with Zienna's pals Faith (her playmate from two doors down), Sherilyn (daughter of our friends Ken and Lili), and Mali (son of the wonderful real estate agent who helped us buy our house, and his wife). To make the event extra special, Grandma and Grandpa Loop, who were in town visiting, tagged along as well.

If you're thinking clowns and music and party games—or even a piñata—think again. This was a party envisioned and planned to please an easy-going three-year-old, so there'd be none of those things, even though I offered them. Zienna was content to just hang out and play on the swings and slides as if it were any other day, with the added bonus that she had friends along to share the experience. And judging from the other kids' reaction, they were fine with it, too, swinging and running and laughing to their hearts' content.

At one point, we broke briefly for cupcakes, courtesy of Sherilyn's mom, Lili. Zienna opened her gifts and cards, too. And then she was off again, excited to be at one of her favorite places in the world—and thankful for the fact that unlike most visits to the park, which are typically squeezed between errands like picking up her siblings from school, I wasn't constantly eying the clock and warning her that it was almost time to leave.

Usually, when I do announce that it's time to go, I get massive flack from Zienna, who given her druthers, would move in to the park and live there full time. But not on this day. I'm not sure whether it was the heat, which was just starting to kick in, or whether she was beginning to tire, or whether she realized you can't mess with perfection and ought, at some point, leave it alone and walk away. But as the two-hour period set for the gathering drew to a close, Zienna actually asked to leave. And though goodbyes and thank yous dragged on a bit, there were smiles all around. I left feeling like this was what a birthday party was supposed to be like, free of the pre-packaged, superficial merrymaking marketed by businesses large and small these days.

Arriving home, Zienna was only too happy to play with her big, Mylar Tinkerbell balloon, having dispensed the latex ones to her guests as they'd left the park (with ribbon detangling help courtesy of Lili and Grandma, since the wind had whipped them about pretty brutally). After nearly a year of asking during each trip to the grocery store if she could have one of the big, shiny balloons for her birthday, Zienna finally had one. And like all the other simple pleasures of the day, she treasured it (a fact which made my heart sink a bit the following day when the balloon got tangled in her ceiling fan and lost much of its helium before I pulled it free).

Oh, to be three again. And so innocent. But at least I've got the next best thing: the ability to live vicariously through my amazing kid at an age when, though I could be a grandparent, I'm old enough to really appreciate her experiences—and mine right there beside her.

A gallery of photos from the party and Zienna's cake celebration back at home later on can be viewed here.