“Mum! Mum! Maddie gave me an invitation to a party at her house on Friday! Alex is coming home and she said I can come to the party!”
The excitement was palpable. Not only is Maddie her favourite friend, but Maddie’s big brother, Alex, was the girls’ under 7 soccer coach and adored by them all. He had been overseas on a school trip, and the anticipation had been building for his arrival home again for some time. I smiled at my daughter. “How lovely”, I said.
I took the invitation and tacked it to the corkboard where such things are posted. I admired that Maddie had made it herself, using nothing more than some card, a marker, and a lot of effort. It was only as I turned away from the invitation again that I noticed there was no date given, nor the address of their house. I looked a little closer, and now realised the phone number on there was short a digit, too.
Sure enough, upon checking with her mother it was discovered the invitation was unsolicited, and in fact a number of small people had been given similar ones. What a surprise party that would have been...for everyone.
