It's True

This past weekend, I had the biggest party at my house that I've had since I moved away from Boston ten years ago. Hammer Wife and I had about 50 people over -- almost 40 adults and 12 or so kids -- to celebrate my brother in law's 40th birthday -- and I have to say, this was just about the best grown-up house party I've been to in as long as I can remember.

And I didn't do squat to plan for it. I mean nothing. Like, I had no idea what people were going to do, where people were going to sit, what people were going to eat or drink. Cake for the birthday boy? Never thought of that. Invitations to go out? Never considered it.

Here it was, the party was just starting on Saturday afternoon, and I'm sitting in my chair in the living room entertaining the first of our guests, when out our front window I see a strange sight. It was Joanne, the woman who runs the store in town where my kids go from time to time to do arts and crafts and hang out with their friends, and she was walking right up my street. I've never seen this woman before in my life except inside her store in town, and here she is practically turning up my driveway as my brother in law's party begins.

"Hammer Wife!" I yelled (no, I don't really care her Hammer Wife at home), "You're not going to believe this. Joanne from Kid's Corner is walking right up our driveway right now."

And then came back the answer that let me know this party was actually in good hands all along. "Of course I believe it. I hired her to do face painting and arts and crafts on the porch for the kids," explained Hammer Wife in her all-knowing, all-planning splendor.

I actually had face painting, balloons, and arts and crafts for a bunch of kids at a party for several families at my house this past weekend! Instead of running around donking my way through a half-assed attempt at a party, slaving over food and desperately trying to find things for the children to do since the weather was surprisingly chilly and rainy, everything had been taken care of, down to the finest details of posting countless photographs all over our house of the birthday boy from the '70s and '80s at various points in his life, the fine catered food delivered to our door at the perfect time and in copious amounts, extra seating brought in in the form of benches, tables and fold-away chairs on the porch and in the back yard, and the giant-size gourmet birthday cake in my brother in law's favorite flavors. And all with the delicate touch and style that only Hammer Wife could muster.

This weekend I got to host a party that I know the attendees and their kids will be talking about for some time. Most of the kids literally cried when told they had to leave, and several of the families stayed well into the evening hours just hanging out and having a great time. And I didn't have to spend more than fifteen minutes planning the event or even thinking about what we wanted to have. Somehow, the same person who not only watches the three Hammer Kids all day but ferries them around from one school to the library to the other school to softball practice, to ballet class and then back home every single day, also found the time to single-handedly plan a kick-balls party all whilst exhibiting no dropoff whatsoever with all of her other daily trials and tribulations.

It's true what they say about poker bloggers marrying up.