Birthdays

Today two of my grandsons shared a birthday.  One turned five, the other fifteen.  I have been trying to organize a skating opportunity for the six older children in the family but colds and other obstacles delayed the event.  I feared that the younger brother would feel upset when I removed his three older brothers and his three older sisters for such an interesting project.  To alleviate his feeling of exclusion I went to their home with balloons, a gift for him  plus a bottle filled with one of his favorite treats, candied kiwi fruit slices, and a large baking pan filled with what I call popcorn with gooey on it.  It consists of popcorn coated with a candy mixture prepared by adding dry milk granules and chunky peanut butter to a caramel syrup at soft ball stage.  I added colored sprinkles to add a party touch to the treat. The balloons were a great success and the candy covered popcorn was a hit.  It caused the younger child no apparent distress when I took the older children to the skating oval.  None of them had ever ice skated before and one had not even worn roller skates, but they stayed on the ice for almost two hours and the youngest made great progress.  All of them were happy with the experience.  It was worth my time and planning to make both the party at the home and the party at the skating rink successful.  I am grateful that the occasion of birthdays provide the motivation for such fun.