Screams of the Mortal Nine

>One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. And then the screams of the nine rang forth. >And even the faceless Nazgûl, *cowered in fear.* ---  --- We hosted a small party with friends of Smallsteps' for a couple hours tonight to mark her birthday. A few couldn't make it due to other engagements, but most arrived in pretty dresses and carrying gift bags. They all looked so sweet as they came in one by one and handed over their gifts. > And then they turned. Our house is normally a pretty serene place, with muted colours and whites, soft music playing, sometimes some candles flickering on the table. But tonight, it was filled with the bloodcurdling screams of 9 happy girls who were hopped up on far too much sugar. We put together an "ice cream buffet" with a couple different ice cream flavours, and then bowls of different sweets and toppings that they could choose themselves, as well as a few biscuits and chips. Thankfully, the weather was good and the first "proper" party on the terrace went to Smallsteps and her friends. It was kind of funny watching them there eating ice cream and drinking juice. Because I am pretty sure a few of the same girls in the not too distant future will be sitting in the same places drinking cheap alcohol as teens, while the parents are not home. > Hopefully not too soon though.  And after "dinner", there was the customary opening of gifts and I am glad to say that Smallsteps always reads the cards first. There were some pretty cool self-made cards, and pretty much everyone had a mouse of some kind on it - or a puppy. --- --- But once that was out of the way, we had the girls sit around the dining table making bracelets out of a million plastic beads that Smallsteps has got or inherited from friends and family over the years. Last time we had them making Lego in pairs and it was super successful, and this was just as good. The only issue we had was my wife couldn't tie the knots in them, and I struggled with my sausage fingers to get them done. But as you can see from Smallsteps' face - it was fun.   --- We have known nearly all of these girls for several years, with one of them her best friend from day care, when they were two or three years of age. There was also one friend from the new school, which was really nice. However, there is a massive difference in their personalities and it is quite an eclectic group of people, with some being very childish, others more mature, some creative and serious, others unable to focus and noisy. I could just watch them and thought I could see what kinds of people they would grow into, based on my own experiences in social groups. We did a kind of gift bag, but there wasn't much in there other than a balloon, a glowstick bracelet and a lollipop. However, instead of handing it to them, we had them "fish" over a barrier I made with a stick and a line with a bucket attached to it. > I was the fish. Which means I had to speak Finnish to them, which is not my strong suit, so I made a big show of it, asking them to speak Fish instead, getting their names wrong, adding in silly fish sounds and the like. They had fun, but I suspect that I won't be invited to perform at too many more of her birthdays.  It was a nice evening and as the parents came to pick their kids, or they rode off on their bikes and the trampoline stood still and serenity returned - My wife said, >Next year, we can have it somewhere else. Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ] --- **Be part of the Hive discussion.** - Comment on the topics of the article, and add your perspectives and experiences. - Read and discuss with others who comment and build your personal network - Engage well with me and others and put in effort **And you may be rewarded.** ---