My husband’s 8-year-old niece is having a birthday party with relatives and friends invited. But all seven friends declined to come, one by one, either due to getting sick or family issues or because some of them have big tests.

And the mom was hesitant to tell her about the last ones, including her best friend, being unable to come, since that final piece of news is devastating. So when we arrived, the niece was super happy, dressed up like a princess, showing us all the decorations and picking which colored forks each of her friends would have for the cake.

Basically, the expectations and reality couldn’t be more starkly different. It was like a comedy show setting up for a sad punchline. And eventually the mom dropped the bombshell, crying ensued, etc. The niece said this would be awful since her party would be all adults talking.

So, now I’m playing My Little Pony with her for damage control. Next, I’m going to blow up a lot of balloons to throw around with her and challenge her to see how many she can keep in the air at once. And then she wants to watch Inside Out 2 together.

How’s your day going?