Our youngest wanted an ‘end of year’ party for his 4th grade
classmates. We invited 20 and ended up with 13. The goal was to have a great time, have lots of
things to do outside, and privately, to help my son feel loved by his fails-too-often dad.
First, we needed great weather.
It was absolutely perfect!
Then, we needed some fun things to do, starting with "Water fun". I used a huge tarp, buckets of water
for squirt-gun fights, and the lady of the house harvested water guns from
the Dollar store.
Of course, water balloons are always a hit, so what
better party event than a custom-HINTER built water balloon launcher! Thanks to Fleet Farm
and their ‘horse care’ department, I was able to get 2 10’ latex tubes (don't ask. I have no idea...but poor, poor horses!). As for the launcher? They worked
great! (some balloons traveled over 100 feet)
And then we brought the BIG ballistics out. However, those
didn’t travel as well so we ran water balloon tosses. I announced the contest
and some said “Don’t keep track or some may lose”. I instinctively channeled my
inner robot and pronounced, “Life is filled with winning and losing…get use to
it”. Then, when a team dropped a balloon and it popped, I yelled, “OK. Losers
down here while we watch the winners!” (You’re welcome…just trying to prepare
these kids for reality.)
Of course, a party isn’t all about water fun. I set up
badminton, croquet, horse-shoe toss, bocce ball, and provided footballs and
frisbees. There were hours of “free form” fun.
Then, these 10 year-olds turned into future IBMers and started an endless debate on the nuances of how to play “Capture the Football”. I eventually
yelled, “ON MY MARK, TEAM ONE ATTACK TEAM TWO….ONE, TWO, THREE: CHAAAAARGE!!!!”
...and much fun was had by all.
I also fixed up our park: Mowed, fixed fort, slide, and made
the path good for bare feet. It was awesome to see all the kids explore like
pirates searching the jungle for treasure.
After dinner on the grill, the games, and the water, we
started our evening with a fire. Thanks to my WWJD bracelet (What Would Jack
Do), the height of the fire exceeded all expectations.
Not to lose an opportunity, the classic “end of school year”
burning of the homework commenced and was enjoyed by all
The day ended with s’mores, s'moritos (a HINTER
creation….they’re awesome!) and night games. Three separate times during the
evening a classmate pronounced, “This was the best party I’ve ever been
to!" That felt good. Then later I heard my son quietly whisper, "Thanks Dad". That, I'll never forget.
After the guests left, and the kids were in bed, I sat by
the embers of the fire with my wife. I felt such contentment. We agreed to etch this day into our memories so that on hard days we don’t forget how blessed we
are living here, able to host parties, and raise the kids we have. In a very real sense this
was the best Father’s Day gift I’ve ever received…a reminder at the impact I
have on my kids lives if I work hard, apply creativity, and work to serve them
rather than focus on my own wants.
What a day…what a party
