Happy Birthday, Cosette!

Oh, Monday morning came way too soon. Thankfully, after three late nights in a row (or should I say three early mornings), we had a holiday on Monday. Monday is a day that the person who gets a baby in their cake (remember the white plastic baby that I didn’t get in the Rosca de Reyes on January 7th [the holiday is the 6th, but they waited for me to get here at school]) is supposed to supply tamales for the celebration. This is actually just a suggestion and I don’t think anyone really provides them, but tamales are certainly eaten in a big way that day. All businesses are closed, but tamal shops stay open. It’s probably their black Friday. I’m totally cool with that. I could eat tamales all day every day I think.
Monday was Cosette’s birthday. Mabel had wanted to have the party earlier in the weekend, but Cosette pitched a fit when making the invitations because her birthday was, in fact, on the 2nd. How dare her mother suggest that she have her birthday party on any other day!
I woke up at 8:45. I can’t get past that; no matter how tired I am, I’m always up shortly after the sun. Of course, it didn’t help that Mabel had the music pumping and preparations going on from 9:00 on. This prevented me from going back to sleep. To her credit, she didn’t know I was back; I had gone from Mazatlán to Iván’s and didn’t get home until 4 am. She was not awake, so she didn’t know I had gotten home. The music boomed, and I chatted and stayed in pjs. I would’ve loved to have gone back to sleep and napped a bit before the actual birthday party at 1, but that just seemed impossible. Around 1, I decided to make my presence known. I knew the party wouldn’t actually start at one, but I figured I should offer some help with the set up.
I got dressed, put on a hint of makeup (though I looked like I’d been through the ringer), and headed downstairs. Mabel was walking out the door and turned around with a face of confusion when she heard me. “When did you get back?” My answer was last night, but the word they use here for last night is the same as yesterday, so she responded, “I never saw you.” I then explained that it was after she was asleep.
I helped her take the drinks outside and carry some of the food. Demien was hanging the piñata and Cosette was nowhere to be found. Since there was no one there yet and nothing to do, I went back to my room. At 2 something, Mabel came in and yelled up for me to come get some food. I did. I sat with Marisela, Papá, Tía (maybe Cyntia?!), and Demien. Mabel was up and about greeting the guests. I was stoked to have my tamal de elote (my favorite with corn) and my tamal de Puerco (the pork kind, not my favorite, but good nonetheless). I was stuffed after two. I hung out and chatted with Marisela who decided to go get the face paint she had at home. Since it was a holiday, no one was available for hire for the entertainment. The balloon arch and decorations were also missing due to a closed store. This was a minimalist party, but no one noticed or cared. After Mari left, her boyfriend Carlos, his mom, and his little sister Alesandra (who was entertained by me at his birthday party last weekend) showed up. Elvia and Oscar (godmother and boyfriend) made an appearance with her parents as well. Elvia doesn’t drink beer, either, so she made lots of jokes about how we would drink our beer together. I was afraid at first that she was cold, but I think the day I met her she had a lot on her mind. She’s really fun. Mabel and Cosette cut the birthday cake and served it. They ran out of plates so re-used some when people finished. That made me a little nauseous, but that’s a very Mexican solution. Do not leave the party. Make due and stay with your peeps. The kids went to hit the piñata and I went inside to go to the bathroom. It was after 4. While I was inside, I realized just how tired I was and went to lie down for a bit. A bit turned into 3 hours! It was a great nap. I got up, had a bite to eat, and went back to bed. I did, after all, have to work the following day!