It’s one thing if you have an extroverted personality and are not afraid to chat people up about how cold the weather was in the morning or share a funny anecdote to another parent to relate with theirs about their own kid.

It’s another thing when you’re low-key getting anxiety talking to semi-strangers but you have to step up and play the role of an extroverted mum for a day because you’re hosting your kid’s birthday party.

I mean, I’ve been doing this four years in a row now and it doesn’t get any easier. But I’m better at faking it. I mean, I’m not totally out there like Jeff normally is but I push myself to talk to the other parents. Try to get to know them on a genuine level because their kids hang out with my kid so we’re bound to bump into each other more often than not.

And if there’s one thing I noticed which brought me immediate relief, it’s that we were all very awkward parents hanging out with semi-strangers. A circle brought together by proximity and, well, necessity.

At the end of the day, we all just wanted to show up for our kids.

For Raven’s 8th birthday this year, we had it at Bounce at Keysborough. Something different. She and her friends have become too old for playcentres but too young for clubs so the trampoline place was the next best thing.

Back at home two hours later, Jeff and I were simply exhausted. Him, physically — from jumping and running and chasing around kids.

And me, emotionally — from… everything.

But of course we’re going to do it again if Raven’s still up for it. Because these are core memories she will hopefully cherish in her lifetime and if we’re in a position to provide that for her, why not?

I just need to bounce out of my shyness and suck it up.

P.S. Took some photos of the goody bags that Raven distributed to her classmates. I wanted to do away with the plastic bags and make it more eco-friendly. We found these adorable keychain fabric animal bags on Amazon and to our delight, the chocolates and the lollies fit perfectly! The Chupa Chups lollipops were a bit of a squeeze but once the zippers were zipped, Mother Nature must’ve been so proud to see us doing our bit in reducing environmental waste.

Raven made such a huge effort making customised cards for each and every one of her 24 classmates. Each one of them a labor of love. Each character individually handpicked to suit their intended recipient. Like, I had never seen my daughter so dedicated in the task before her. She was more serious about it than her homeworks!

*Raven at 8 years old