limitations and the gifts that come

We have a smallish house.

Some call it tiny. We call it ours, and we use every space.

Most of the time, I’m not ashamed of our little dwelling. I’ve also spent a time or two wishing for a bit more space, mostly to create and entertain.

This limitation has also been a gift. Thinking outside the box inspires some great creative energy. Secondly, it just plain helps me make decisions about who to invite when it comes to a gathering. The fact is, I just can’t fit all our special people in our main areas at once. We have to make choices, and sometimes we just have multiple gatherings. The reality is, that parties with all our family and friends in one space, are special when it comes to a Wedding, but when I really want a chance to both connect and host, the smaller version, for me, is the easiest.

For Evie’s first birthday, we knew a couple things:
–A baby’s first birthday is mostly about the big people. Therefore, Tim and I knew this day of celebration was something we wanted to share with people who have supported us in this sleep deprived but awesome first year.
–We also knew Ev would be going to bed by 7, along with her little friends. We wanted to extend the party with our adult friends. Upstairs became bedtime for all under 5, and downstairs the party continued.
–We had family in town the following week and knew we’d celebrate again with the extended family.

Considering all of this and because of our limited space, we kept the party to one group of our friends, old and new, most all of them knowing one another. So many lovely friends have been a support to us, but keeping it to one group of friends made it simple and low key for Tim and I as the hosts.

With all that on the table for planning, our party started at 6 pm. The first thing we served were banana cupcakes and mango beverages ready to toast to Evelyn. I liked the idea of flipping this party updside down a little and starting with dessert for the whole gang (kids and adults), saving snacks and more beverages for the adults later on.

We all circled around and toasted to Evie and her first year. Tim shared a poem and prayer for  our girl as she watched from the center. Love that moment.

We sang her first birthday song, and Ella served Ev her first cupcake.

We put the sweet little thing to bed and brought out mini lamb burgers, homemade potato chips, toasts and crab dip, almonds, asparagus artichoke dip, crudités and more mango sours–a celebration of spring.

At one point, breaking through some crazy laughing and storytelling, our friend Ben decided to tell us why he thought Ev was extremely fortunate to have us as her parents, lump in my throat. These are the moments you remember, the ones when you realize how amazingly blessed you really are–to have people in a room who are for you and see some light worth mentioning.

And at that moment, it didn’t so much matter how big the room was.

The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. –Orson Welles

~H

Last Updated on June 16, 2022 by Heather Bursch