Invited to a Party

Over the weekend, we went to a birthday party for one of Zach's classmates.  We live in a community that has a 9 month school year, so they are on summer vacation, and Zach has been very nostalgic, and misses his first grade class and teacher.  So when the opportunity came up to go to a party for his friend, McKenzie, I agreed.  This is the girl whom he was constantly calling his 'girlfriend' and though I don't think he fully grasps what that means, I know he likes being around her and considers her a friend. 
Thankfully, the party was at one of my kids favorite parks, as I needed to bring Israel along as well, because my husband was out of town.  Israel is two grades level above everyone else at the party, and spent most of the time running around the playground.  It was really informal, which was perfect for my kids, not having to sit and pay attention to rules/games was nice.  While I was talking with the host mom and another mom, I mentioned how nice it was to be invited, that we don't really get invited to many parties anymore.  I was assuming it is because my kids are autistic and Zach in particular can be a little abrasive/awkward around others, and neurotypical kids sometimes don't know how to take him.  But another parent chimed in, "There aren't a lot of parents doing them anymore."  I have to admit, it made me feel better. 
And then I thought about my own childhood, and how it made me feel to never have a party.  My parents were so poor, and we never had the extra money for something as frivolous as a party.  Especially since my birthday falls less than a week after Christmas.  My sister often had a combined party with our cousin, thrown/funded by my aunt, and it made me fiercely jealous when I was a kid.  We always got gifts, but it was the party that I wanted, to have my friends around, fussing over me.  Now that I am an adult, I can see both sides, it is a little silly to indulge in such things, but if it makes my kids feel good, I don't see the harm.  The sad part about the party this weekend was that from a class of 20 students invited, only 4 classmates showed up to her party.  The host mom was running around trying to make everyone happy, serving, setting up games, etc.  But in the end, the birthday girl seemed happy and my kids had a blast.  Autistic or not, parties make kids happy.  And the one we went to was pretty uncomplicated, and the kids didn't interact too terribly much due to the playground equipment, but for my family, my kids were included.  And that feels amazing!

That's Zach on the far left, and Israel just to the right of him