Happy Birthday, Cowboy

It's Adam's birthday party, partner

 

Last week was Adam's birthday, so on Sunday my family insisted on a birthday dinner — with a theme. Since probably last fall and all during prime Christmas movie season, Adam has whined that we need to watch Maverick. Have you seen this Comedy-Western starring Mel Gibson in his pre-crazy glory days? It's fun — one of Adam's favorites. Because we love Adam and love giving him a hard time, we decided months ago to make him suffer until his birthday — that way we could make his day by finally watching Maverick. Smart, right?

Running with the cowboy theme, my awesome parents picked up a hat and bandana for each of us, racks of ribs, corn muffins, and other cooked-up deliciousness for dinner. On the table, cowboy and cowgirl party napkins and a giant bull skull my brother found at an antique store (he plans to mount it on the wall). I cued up Marty Robbins Radio on Pandora to complete the Western ambiance. 

The whole evening made me miss theme parties. We used to have them all the time! In 8th grade, my Prom-themed birthday party saw party-goers decked out in gaudy thrift store finds. In high school, I had a Disney Villains shindig where I dressed as Captain Hook and my friends showed up as Cruella, Ursula, and Man (the villain in Bambi, duh). In college we had 90s parties, 60s parties, come-dressed-as-something-that-starts-with-"V" parties (my roommates and I lived in Apartment V). I'm glad we brought those days back, even in our very small way, for a night of Western-themed silliness. Please let's never get too old for theme parties.