Helena had friends over for her birthday party two days after her party. Most kids were from her class, but she also invited Eddie Rittler, who is in first grade and who she hangs out with at Southwest and Zoe, her best friend. I suggested that Zoe wouldn’t be invited because once Zoe cried because she didn’t know anyone but Helena who was busy with others, and because last year Helena ditched all her school friends at one point to play with Zoe. Then I find out that Zoe was invited anyway, I guess I don’t need to be consulted anymore about such things.

The party went by quite quickly. The girls seem so different now than they did last year. For one, it is a bit more quiet, but I missed the conversations that they all had last year while in a circle in our living room while they were eating their lunch. Helena’s friend John knocked over his apple juice and then sat in it, and later we heard stories about him peeing his pants at school, which, while different, wasn’t as exciting as the girls last year listening to one girl (who was here again this year) talk about her mother’s alcohol and drug addiction!

So the girls played together, and the boys mostly played separately, and I played soccer with Lola and sat with another while she etched a drawing when they weren’t with the others because I thought that they may have been feeling that they were left out.

Helena was a little upset about the girls playing a little rough with Chubby, though. Hopefully that won’t ruin any friendships.

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