Happy Birthday, E!

I'm quite bummed today.

It's the birthday of one of the kids I au pair, and I was not invited for the matinee show. So when everybody is running around, getting ready for the movie, I am just sitting inside my room, wondering what is wrong. Friends and relatives are here for the party, and I have not been told anything by the parents. Should I stay? Should I leave, if they are having an event? There is a cake in the fridge, so am I to be there in the party?

Just as I was thinking this, the voices of the family singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU reached my ears. For a second, I thought they were cutting the cake and I was incredibly sad. Then I realised it is 9am and nobody cuts a cake in the morning! They must be waking up the girl by singing to her and giving her presents.

After feeling sorry for myself for a few minutes, I just made up my mind to go out and meet my friends. My host family is generally very cordial and generous to me (for e.g., they always give me their own travelcard to use in the weekends) so I had to conclude that they were not ignoring me deliberately.

May be they want their space, to be their family time. May be they just forgot, because it is all so hectic. I AM kind of an introvert, and I have made it clear many times that I value peace over mayhem so may be they thought I wouldn't want to participate in a noisy b'day party.

So instead of wrecking my mental peace, I just gave my present to the birthday girl and made a graceful exit. Life's too short to worry about these things!