Life is a Party… An Analogy

I have been delinquent, again, in my blog posting, and here we are so close to the end! I am the chairperson for an HR conference next week, we are expecting 200 attendees and I have been plunged into the depth of conference planning, with no time to do anything, except walk Jack.

It is Saturday morning, 6:00AM, the day of the big party (I wish I could have slept later). I am slightly, and I mean very slightly, embarrassed by the excess that this evening will be. In my defense I wanted it to have all the things I love: my family, friends, singing, dancing, laughter and food. I don’t know how she did it, but McKenzie found a D.J./Karaoke/comedian who will be the entertainment, I am so excited!

I thought this would be a perfect day to post my “Life is a Party” analogy. I went to Google to see what other analogies were out there, I found “life is a river”, “life is a battlefield”, “life is like a video game”... obviously the younger generation is now getting involved in analogies. But my analogy about life has always been aligned with a good party:

Party preparation happens during the first quarter of our lives, this, for many, is often the best time of all. Everything is still ahead, so you have lots of time think about your theme, decide who you want to invite, what kind of music you want and what games will be played.

Let the party begin! When we get into our “adult” lives you can see what kind of party it is going to be by the type of people that are showing up. Everyone is young, for the most part, and ready to have fun. This is when some crazy things can happen, but that’s okay, there is plenty of time left and the craziness will be remembered later with fondness. This is also the part of the party where people begin to pair off, slipping into different rooms, not to be seen again until much later in the party. Some people leave all together.

Party in full swing! At this stage everyone at the party knows everyone else, there have been new faces introduced, which involves additional celebration. Unfortunately it is inevitabe and usually without explanation that someone very important to the party leaves. It isn’t their fault, but it has an impact that takes a while for partygoers to recover from. Fortunately most people are able to move on and enjoy who is left at their party. Of course there will be the inevitable tears and fights, but that is what gives the party its character.

Winding down…. One day you look up and see that most of the people have left the party; just a few close friends and family remain to help you debrief the whole affair. This is the part where everyone compares notes and hopefully says what a wonderful time they've had. At this point the party host is usually exhausted and ready to call it a day. She says goodbye to the people that have stayed till the end, slips into her soft cloths and drifts off, thinking about how grateful she is to have attended the party of her life.