Parties

Parties in my late 20s:

• Starts around 8 PM
• People show up around 10 PM
• Eat and drink to excess
• Listen to loud offensive music
• Try to flirt with girls
• Get home some time after 2 AM
• Sleep until late afternoon the following day.

Parties in my late 30s:

• Starts around 4 PM
• Families show up around 4:05 PM
• Eat healthy, drink moderately
• Listen to the "80s Rock" channel on Pandora
• Collectively supervise all the children playing in the sprinkler
• Get home by 9 PM
• Get up the following morning at about the same time as every other day of the week.

Note that this isn’t a complaint about getting older. The party we hosted this weekend was indubitably one of our best ones yet. Everyone had a great time: adults enjoyed friendly and intelligent conversation, and the kids had a blast running around like kids.

Things change over time, including the definition of a successful party.