Hey, Clowns!
Today I did the birthday party for the autistic boy and all his classmates (remember, this is the party I've been fretting over for the past couple months).
I'm happy to report that the party was.....A BLAST!!!
These kids were so sweet and so much fun. There was one little boy who was absolutely mesmerized by me. I kneeled down so he could get close to me, and he put his head right up to mine and repeatedly touched my nose. Then he flapped his arms and laughed hysterically. He did the same thing with my bowtie, my dress, and my shoes. Then he started all over again with my nose. When we were dancing the "Hokey Pokey," the same little boy came over to me and started hugging me. So I picked him up and danced with him for the rest of the song. It was really a neat moment.
I definitely over-prepared for the event, bringing way more activities than I needed. I didn't use half of what I brought, but that's okay. The bubbles were a huge hit. Ohmygoodness, the kids played with them forever. I brought my battery-operated bubble machine, and they loved it -- especially the birthday boy. I also had bubble wands of all different sizes, and they had so much fun with them.
There was also a petting zoo at this party -- a baby llama, piglets, deer, goats, rabbits, and exotic chickens (who incidentally laid an egg during the party!). Some of the autistic kids weren't really interested in sitting during the entirety of my magic show, so they kind of wandered back and forth from my show to the petting zoo. It actually worked out really well. Our magic words for the magic tricks were "Wow, Patrick's 4!" and sometimes -- even when Patrick wasn't taking part in the magic show, he would turn around and smile when he heard his name.
Remember how paranoid I was about popping balloons and how these kids might react to that? Well, we did balloon hats & animals, and they DID pop. But the kids thought the popping balloons were FUNNY! Whew, what a relief!
And, get this, the birthday party mom gave me a $60 tip! Wow. That's never happened before. (If you will recall, I'm the clown who started the whiney thread about never getting tips. I'll never complain again.)
So, a HUGE thank you to all of you who have been sharing your experiences with me; you were very helpful. I know a couple of you included me in your prayers, too, and I really appreciate it.
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