Princess Marielle and her escort
Our little princess, Marielle, turned seven on July 8. We celebrated it on July 11 — a Sunday — at Fun Ranch in the new Fontera Verde complex in Ortigas. For a 7th birthday, it was a grand celebration fit for a real princess. More than 200 of our relatives, friends, and former and present colleagues came to celebrate with us. As one of our good friends put it: ”Seven is the new 18!”
My ex-girlfriend and I pulled all the stops to make it so, at the peril of burning our wallets. And it did substantially burn our wallets. Ouch. In the final analysis, however, we are convinced that it was worth it.
Princess Marielle and her lady-in-waiting
We wanted Marielle to live her dream — to experience being a princess even just for a day — while she is young and while we can afford it. We wanted her to have experienced a grand birthday celebration, with fond memories for her to keep for the rest of her life. As a matter of principle (or is it a matter of good economic sense?) we do not organize birthday parties for our kids every year. Our idea of a typical birthday is to buy a cake and some simple gifts and eat a “more special than usual” dinner at home. We resolved that there will be a party only on the 1st and 7th birthday.
We do not plan for a grand 18th birthday either, although most of our friends and relatives who attended Marielle’s birthday party earlier this month are already speculating on how grand her 18th birthday celebrations would probably be. Of course, having experienced the relative grandeur of her 7th birthday Marielle is likewise already imagining how grand her 18th birthday would be. But we are not worried. We have 11 years to work on our grand scheme which includes a propaganda campaign meant to dissuade Marielle from wanting a grand 18th birthday celebration.
Our Royal Family, sans Prince Johan
