Birthday Party

Birthday party

By Allan Olson

At the beginning of the month, our oldest son Nikolai turned nine. When he was born I was still a SOTAS (Sorta Older Than Average Student, in college). I know I was beaming from ear to ear for the first few days after he was born, as the proud father that I was.

Of course, then came the sleepless nights and the messy bottoms, neither of which I liked. I need my sleep or I get grumpy – just ask my children – and I really don’t like things that smell unpleasant.

Having a child was a life changing experience.

Over the years we’ve had some interesting birthday parties for him. When he was two, we had a sledding party at the family farm. Snow was piled deep and the hill wasn’t any easier to climb back up. Honestly it was probably harder than when I was a kid.

The following year, I remember we had it in our small, two-bedroom trailer. He got in a bad mood fast for reasons unknown (or just not remembered). He was ready for the company to leave, and finally he and I went for a short walk for a time away from others.

A couple years back we had a big tubing party where many of his cousins, aunts, uncles and even his grandpa (my dad) all went tubing.

This year we went tubing again, although not officially for his birthday party – it was a Christmas present to all the nieces and nephews from one of his uncles.

As we try to mix things up every year, I decided this year’s event, probably a first, since I don’t get into the hoopla of throwing parties (I leave that for my wife, the expert).

I wanted it to be a top-shot competition, using his new BB gun and a slingshot that we had around the house.

The idea was based on a show from the History Channel that I watched last summer, although the weapon choices were considerably toned down to match the age group of the participants and my fund balance.

The top shot prize was a small container of flavored ice cream; to win it they had to have the best overall score. The targets were set up with consultation from two of my brothers.

The first was an actual target nailed to a tree. It was close, but one of the two nine year-old cousins bested his older siblings as well as all of his cousins.

The next three targets were pop cans. No, it wasn’t very creative, but it was getting dark and cold, and we had to have our cake and ice cream yet.

However, to keep things interesting, they were only allowed so many shots per target, and for each target they had to shoot from a different position and at a different distance.

Being that he was the birthday boy, Nikolai got the first chance at every target. I think he surprised himself with how well he did, considering it was only his second time using the BB gun.

The only thing that kept the competition from being a blowout was the slingshot. Nikolai has used it before, but that practice didn’t help him out.

The contestants were limited to three shots each, as the store I checked on the way back from tubing was out of BBs for it. None of the contestants got a hit. I tried to help them some, and they got close, but no luck.

Ultimately Alex, the soon-to-be teenager and the oldest of the cousins participating, won the contest, narrowly beating out his younger brother. The remaining four candidates were nearly tied.

As for the winner, the ice cream I purchased wasn’t a favorite of his. He kindly shared a scoop or two with Nikolai, and had plans to auction the remainder off to his siblings. Perhaps his uncles and I will join in the challenge next time. Maybe we will invite my dad to judge it and no, we don’t want him to participate. If we did, I’m certain there would be a decisive winner.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week. Remember to drive safe, and watch out for school buses on the road. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.