Although they can be stressful for the adults who organize them, I find children’s birthday parties to be lots of fun. Everything that goes into them — the decorations, the games, the gifts, the cake and candles — brings back memories of my own birthday parties and the friends and family members who shaped my childhood. Kids’ birthday parties also reaffirm a simple but inescapable truth: we should let children be children because they are only that way for a short while.

My grandsons Sam and Nathan certainly enjoy being children, and they certainly enjoyed the joint birthday party held for them yesterday. Sam turned four on July 10 and Nathan will be one on the 22^nd. Things got started at Calumet Christian School where party-goers could play with balls, jump in a bouncy house, or make funny masks out of feathers and glitter. Amazingly, despite the pandemonium, no child (or grown-up) was seriously hurt. Cake, with “Nathan” and “Sam” written on its surface, was served toward the end of this party. It wasn’t bad cake but had a little too much icing for my taste. After a small piece, I munched on the fruit and veggies from a nearby relish tray.

Less than a half hour after the first party ended, a second one began at my Worthington residence. This one was for the extended family members of the birthday boys. Presents were distributed, pizza eaten, and backyard games played. The smaller children enjoyed chasing bubbles while the adults tried their hand at cornhole. A family photo taken of the Welsh family was barely big enough to include all 20 members of that growing clan.

The birthday boys seemed to have a good time, even though Nathan was too young to understand why such a fuss was being made over him and his brother. Nathan and Sam lost the spotlight temporarily when their 3-year-old cousin Alek ran naked up the staircase to the second floor for an emergency bath. There’s always a party pooper.

The party for Sam and Nathan was a little bittersweet. In a few days, their mom and dad will take them and their sister Evelyn back to Indonesia where they live most of the time. Even if my wife and I visit them in Australia (as tentatively planned), it will still be a year or so before I see them again. But maybe there will be another joint birthday party then. If so, perhaps some wombats and wallabies can be invited.