Playdate at Ridgmar

I love playdates. What is a playdate? Well, it is when you choose to entertain your children and invite a friend and their child(ren) to join you. Sometimes there are playgroups, in which you have a whole circle of moms with similar-aged children who want to do different things with their kids during the day. The word playdate sounds so trivial, yet endearing. Silly, but fun. The fact is, the kids enjoy playing with someone new and I enjoy conversation. Plus the person you are conversing with understands when you have to abruptly leave the conversation to pick up your child to console him or her.

Laura is one of my favorite people to have playdates with. (And also to go on cruises with!) We have the best conversations (in snippets sometimes). We NEVER run out of things to talk about. (As if!) We like to do the same things, have similar parenting styles and our kiddos are all within months of each other's ages. We have actually known each other since college, but did not get reconnected until about 3 years ago. Since then, we have added 2 boys to the mix, been to the zoo a kajillion times, played at innumerable parks, celebrated countless birthdays together and handed down tons of clothes. (OK, she hands down all the clothes to me!) Also, she is kind of my mentor when it comes to parenting. Not only does she have 3 kids, but she was an early childhood teacher for many years before that. She is just slightly ahead of me in each different stage, so I have a trusted person I can ask those sometimes tough questions. I would say she is my go-to mom when it comes to a difficulty that I may be having with the kids and cannot come up with a solution.

All that said, we went to play at Ridgmar today. It is so nice when the kids all play with each other, stay in the designated area and do not cry. [This is not always the case. About a year ago, I had to quit bringing Luke because he would just escape out of the area and I would have to be chasing him every 5 minutes. That is ridiculous and preventable. So I just quit taking him there until he got over that little stage.] After we finished playing, we went up to eat at my favorite eating place, Chik*Fil*a. It was kind of fun: the kids sat at their own table and we sat our own table, less than a foot away. We had our own conversation and they... ate each other's food when we were not looking. Oh well, that was worth getting to share conversation for 10-15 minutes! Thanks for being such a good friend and mentor, Laura!