All Apologies

Let me first address all of you who may ever have to plan a wedding reception in the future: If there is ANY chance that a small child will be in attendance, DO NOT, under any circumstances, spell anything in flower petals on the floor. No matter how lovely the room looks with the dance floor monogrammed, please don't do it. I'm begging you.

Last night, James and I went to a wedding reception for an old roommate of mine. Zoe was stomping and dancing around the room (see the video) until she discovered the dance floor in the middle of the room.

To my dismay, there was a beautiful, and quite large "Y" made out of vast amounts of purple and white flower petals. At first she carefully stepped over the letter, then she happened to walk through it and scatter the petals. She thought that was pretty fun. Then some older boys joined her in the festivities, scattering the petals further. When they were done playing the Y was still mostly in tact, but, despite our best efforts to distract her, Zoe destroyed the Y completely before the evening was over.


To justify her behavior, let me say that if there were absolutely no flower petals on the dance floor, Zoe would have behaved in the exact same manner. She loves jumping, stomping, and dancing around, especially on hard floors. James and I did try our best to keep her under control but she was having so much fun and just couldn't understand why we kept pulling her away. And when I say "just couldn't understand why," I really mean, "screamed and threw a tantrum when." We eventually gave up - after the petals were in no semblance of a Y and other people were also walking across the floor, and because we just didn't feel like good parents disciplining her when she really wasn't doing anything wrong. Plus I wasn't quite sure if they really expected a Y, made of flower petals, in the middle of a dance floor, in the middle of a crowded room, to stay intact all night. Even if that wasn't the intent, I still felt guilty that my child had a hand, well a foot, in destroying the decor.


So, I ask all of you who might ever plan a reception to avoid this situation, not for the sake of the reception's ambiance, but for the sake of the mother's emotional state of the child that destroys said ambiance. I felt guilty and embarrassed and powerless for the better part of an hour, which is generally not how I like to spend an evening - although this isn't the first time I've spent my evening that way and probably won't be the last. To Karissa and Mark - I am so sorry my child wreaked havoc among your beautiful flower petals. First impressions just don't seem to be her strong suit.