The party was a success!

Emmy is better now, she seems to understand that this is a natural process, that of living and dying, and I hope that she now has a sense that this was how it was meant to be, however painful or unfair it was. She's tough, she's a child, she's put it behind her and has moved on to much more pleasant things. Namely, her 8th. birthday party. Which was a smashing success if I do say so myself! They skated and played, gorged themselves on cake a popcorn, played arcade games and won tickets that could be cashed in for prizes, and had an overall wonderful time. We even got several of the adults out there on roller skates as well! Now that was a sight to see! I, myself, am skating challenged, so I did not participate. But my husband did get our there and I must admit, I think I enjoyed watching him bust his ass a little more than I may have had the right to! Tee hee, now that was priceless! ;D Emily, of course, made out like a bandit, and has been happily playing with all of her new toys ever since the big day.

On that note, I simply cannot get over how unbelievably lucky my daughter is to have so many family and friends who made it a point to make this the most special day possible for her. She was lavished with well thought out gifts aimed directly toward her specific interests and desires, and she was beside herself with joy. We talked extensively later, as we tediously labored to release the toys from their plastic imprisonment, about just how fortunate she really is, and how grateful she must feel, when so many others are so much less fortunate. I think it really sank in when she was recalling the birthday party of her two little friends, which was so shabbily and cheaply thrown together almost as if it were an afterthought on the parents' part. When she compared it to her own party, she kept repeating how she always thought her kind of party was normal, that every kid had parties like that. Then the point was driven home even further when the two little girls from down the street (the ones who first informed us of Whisker's previous life) showed up after we had everything opened and scattered about the living room floor. They just couldn't get over how much cool stuff she got for her birthday. They went on and on about how lucky she was and how they wished their own birthdays were so spectacular. I do believe my Emmy was completely humbled by the realization that she has been leading a very enchanted life thus far, one that so many children can only dream of. I also hope that the seed of charitable giving has now been firmly implanted into her psyche. I've been trying to stress the idea of always helping those less fortunate than yourself, and I am hopeful that this realization will remain with her as new opportunities to give back present themselves throughout her life.

At any rate, she's already mentioned sending thank you notes to each of her guests, so we'll probably get started on that tonight. And she feels it's about time to overhaul her toybox again to see what needs to be donated, so that will be a project for this weekend. Busy, busy!!