PARTY ALL THE TIME

It’s a cool fall afternoon and I’m going to the Rockefeller Center for a movie shoot. I’m going to be an extra for this movie. No celebrities are around, I’m just excited to be a part of the process. It’s a restaurant scene, waiters are streaming by, people are chatting. Action! The building abruptly starts to shake. I catch a glimpse of “them” in the window. I need to run! It’s happening. The building shakes again. I run upstairs and down the hallway. I enter a room and close the door behind me. “They” are here. I hear the pounding on the door. I’m trapped. I look down on the street. The pounding gets louder, and louder… My eyes open. I hear pounding through the baby monitor. The time is 2:30am. It’s Ellie… She’s awake… “They” got me…

I open her door. And there she is, standing, pounding her hands on the crib rail. She has turned her mobile on and it lights up the room like a disco ball at prom. And for a moment, I think I hear Eddie Murphy singing, “my girl wants to party all the time, party all the time…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp_lIIGO-Ak&feature=related

She sees me, her entire face lights up and gives me a look that says; “Dad! You’re just in-time!” A fight I was somewhat prepared for. A party I was not. I need back-up! I change her diaper and call my wife in to nurse her. She doesn’t seem tired at all. I think somewhere between the diaper change and nursing, she pounded a few Red Bulls.

“my girl wants to party all the time, party all the time…”

I try to change the feel of the party from a raucous rave, to more of a casual get together. Let’s just sit and watch the fan while we listen to the gentle sounds of the white noise and talk about our feelings. But nooo, miss party queen does not want to sit and chillax. She wants to play with Hello Kitty, and Suzi Sasparilla… “I just wanna dance, Dad! Don’t be a wet blanket, let’s do this!” I could turn this party into a boxing match right now. I could put my gloves on and start swinging. I’m pretty sure I could get a few good hits in, but the truth of the matter is… is that she’ll win. She knows I’m weak now. She knows I’m broken and bruised. She knows I won’t be able to stop her. She has the eye of the tiger. I can see it. And to be honest, I’m a little frightened. So Ellie continues to have a one person party in her crib dancin’ the night away. I’m just a wallflower laying on the floor, staring at the clock, watching the minutes turn into hours.

“my girl wants to party all the time, party all the time…”

Finally, at 5:00am, everyone has gone home. The disco ball has stopped spinning. Hello Kitty is passed out in the corner. Suzi Sasparilla was kicked out. I wade through the pile of empties on the floor to get to the crib. Ellie is rubbing her eyes and looks partied out. She looks up and her face says, “Okay Dad, I’m ready now.”