Graduation Party...

Yesterday was my niece's graduation party. You know the one. I've been halfway embracing it, halfway having anxiety because of it. My parents offered their home, and before we knew it, they were throwing the party. Ya, I know. To really add insult to injury, my niece didn't invite anyone. OK, my niece invited a friend from school, and that was it.

So I showed up to my parents' house a little early. To get ready for the party. I spent a solid 4 days running around town. Buying everything that we needed. Costco, the Meat Market, I don't know how many Grocery Stores, the Dollar Tree, and Party City. I was exhausted even before the party.

The day before, we had been invited to a birthday party. And literally, my parents and I, went to eat. OK, so we dropped off a few presents too. But it was quick. And we were on our way. We had already spent most of the day shopping, cleaning, and getting things ready. But we weren't done. Oh no!

Costco told us to pick the cake after 6PM. But Costco closes at 5PM on Saturdays. We didn't know that. And the man at the door was incredibly rude. But we got things taken care of. I just told him, if we didn't get the cake that night, they could keep it. I was too tired to deal with him. And Costco isn't exactly close to my parents' house...

Someone went to get the cake for us. And we paid up front. The cashier was really nice to us. And as it turns out, the hours had recently been changed. But no one could figure out why that bakery would have us pick up the cake after hours. I don't know.

We went home. My Mom was trying to get some last minute things done in the yard. By this time, it was already getting dark. I was trying to tackle things inside. ie Cooking. My Dad was trying to fight off sleep. We were a real mess!

My parents called it a night sometime after 10PM. I stayed up cooking. And chopping. And making platters. Believe it or not, but I had planned on going back to my hotel room. Sometime during the night. It never happened. My brother got home sometime after 2AM, never offered to help. I was knee deep in chicken. And pasta salad. I wanted to cry.

Hysterical as it was, I had a little bit of a system in place. After all the fruit and veggies were cut, the platters were put together, and I had boiled the pasta and potatoes, I tackled the chicken. We had pounds and pounds of it. So I seasoned all of it. And baked 4 pans at a time, for 90 minutes, while I took a nap. Or wrapped silverware. Then I'd switch them out. No lie. This went on for a while. I had 16 pans to cook!

By 7AM, I decided that I wasn't going to be baking any cupcakes. And I hoped that I'd get the decorations up on time. Oh, and I never got to Party City, to pick up my balloon order. It was just that kind of a day. I sent my parents to go eat breakfast. I knew my Dad needed to eat. And by noon a friend, and another one of my brothers came to help out. It was a good thing too. I barely managed to take a shower and get halfway presentable. Tables were being set up, we were still trying to figure out how to put together this hamburger grill thing, and my Mom was trying to buy ice.

By 2PM, we hadn't heard from my niece, or her mom. And we were starting to panic. My brother's little girl, she was also having a meltdown. A serious one. The poor little thing was tired, but didn't want to take a nap. And my brother, was trying to not go nuts! When my Dad called my niece, well she didn't sound like she was coming. It was so weird.

She had called earlier in the day. Wanting to know what kind of food we were having. How big was the cake? Where was it from? Did we have decorations? How many people were coming? The questions went on and on. Um, we were trying to get things together. We didn't have time to talk. Then, she just didn't sound like she was going to come. Until Grandpa talked to her.

In so many words, my Dad told her to get to the house. Right now. People were already there! And she was nowhere to be seen. I was ready to kill! Our friend K, and I got stuck at the grills. Which honestly was no shock. We had been working on this party for hours. Poor K, had literally been there since 9AM! I ended up not eating. I think I had half a bowl of fruit. All day long! But everyone seemed to be having a nice time. The temperatures fell, and it was cloudy. Which was a HUGE relief! Earlier in the day, it had been so hot!

The kids enjoyed it the most. My parents have an incredible back yard. Full playground! Surrounded by grass, trees, and so many flowers. They played in the sprinklers. Had a blast with the toys I had bought. Dollar Tree is amazing! And they definitely enjoyed their ice cream treats. :)

Late in party, we brought out the cake. My niece remarked how it was small. Why didn't we get a bigger one. I almost slapped her. No lie! I was so frustrated with her. But I didn't say anything. We bought a full sheet cake. How big did she want it? Then we started the game, what piece do you want? She wanted her name. Which was a big piece. But I said OK. I skillfully cut it out, and handed it to her. Um, it was overflowing on a full sized plate.

I went on to cut cake for everyone else. We handed it out. With ice cream. We also had banana pudding, another pink dessert from my cousin, and fresh fruit. She about had a heart attack when I gave a rose to someone. What? Are we going to save the whole cake? And then when I decided to have a piece, there was only a small corner left. I took about a 1/4 of it. It was like a baby sized piece. And the diploma, came along with it. To my happy surprise, it was made of chocolate. Again, another fit. You would have thought she was 3, instead of 17.

With all that said, everyone had a good time. Lots of people were invited last minute. And they came. Did I mention? Most didn't even know my niece. But they came, and with a card and money, or a gift. And she acted like a spoiled brat. I'm not sure what was up with that. But I was highly annoyed by her.

We had plenty of food. And sent most people home with a few plates. Kids took home the funny toys I had bought. I'm sure my Mom was happy about that. What was she going to do with 10 kid sized plastic bats and balls. Or all those sand toys and buckets. Or even all the water toys. My niece was crying about that. And about the coloring books and crayons that they took. She sat in the house crying. Literally. What was going on with her?

She took all the decorations. Which I was glad. All the signs, table toppers, everything that was red, white, and blue. I had to stop her when she tried to take the baskets, bowls, and platters. Hello. Those were mine way before this party. And my Mom stopped her with the dish towels. I'm not sure where this was coming from.

It was weird. We never got a Thank You. Not once from her. Her mom thanked us multiple times. She's not even related to us! Her dad is the one that's related. But that is a long story. For another day! And her grandma, was so happy that we had done this. Lots of people seemed to enjoy this. But not my niece. It was odd.

After she took everything, and her cards, I was a little shocked. She just wanted the money. Never read the card, or looked at the note. Was rather made at the gifts she received. All she wanted was money. I'm positive that she has no clue who gave her what. Even though we all told her she has to write Thank You notes, I'm pretty sure she won't. And that's just sad.

I know that they pushed for this party to get money. Because my niece's mom, is taking her and her younger sister to Disneyland soon. And she wanted spending money. But honestly, they don't see much of our family. They didn't invite any friends. So I wasn't surprised when she only made $115. I know she was expecting a few thousand. Like I had gotten years before. But I know a lot more people. I invited a bunch of friends. And honestly, our family is not very wealthy. Most will give $10-15. I got most of my money from friends. My mentors, people who were closer than family. People who knew I would use the money for college. And had been a HUGE part of my life!

And after the way my niece acted, well, she should be happy to have gotten that much. I'm not lying. I hate to feel this way. But she acted like a spoiled brat. Literally! All she was concerned with all day long, was taking food to her Nana, and making money. Um, like 5 people took food to her Nana. I honestly didn't care. But she should have maybe, been more attentive to her Grandpa. The person who paid for most of this. But whatever.

Worst of all, we found out that she didn't receive an actual diploma! It was a Certificate of Completion. She lied to everyone. Including her mom. But we got to the bottom of it. Because she was in Special Ed, she needs to go to the local university for a year. Then she will have completed everything. And will receive a diploma. But if they couldn't afford to throw a party, and are still scraping money together for the trip to Disneyland, I'm almost positive that they're not going to have the money for the university. We'll just have to wait and see...

I so wanted to be happy. What a HUGE milestone this is! A time to celebrate. But something has changed. My niece is completely different. Ungrateful. And it was so hard to get into this. After buying her dress, shoes, and paying for a big chunk of this party...I just couldn't bring myself to giving her a card with money. Not after the way she treated my parents.

If you've made it thus far, bless your soul! You are a dedicated reader! And I appreciate that. I'm just hoping that my niece changes. Does better for her future. It's only for her own good. I'm glad that I did everything that I did. I have no regrets, on my part. I just wish that she would appreciate what people do for her. But what can we do? Now she is an adult, and will have to pull her weight in the world.

XOXO

♥D