The Hand Off

As I spend more time hanging around Mom's, kids and the like, I have come to notice that parents love to give you their kids.  The days I am home I seriously spend more time responding to requests for play dates, weekend gatherings, and the like.  Moms are more than happy if you want to take their kids for 2-4 hours, heck keep them overnight and you have a friend for life.  Then I also have friends that take trips sans the kids, at least a few times a year. A trip without the kids makes me feel, the entire time, like I've walked out of the house without my pants on. Rick and I always have fun, but the missing is definitely strong.  I was trying to explain all this to my kids today as they wondered why they couldn't go on the hundredth play date they had been invited on.  Part of me just wanted to say 'heck kids I just really like you guys, I don't know what's wrong with those other parents'.  But yes, I refrained. 

Yesterday my girls had their friends, who happen to be sisters, over for a playdate.  I couldn't help but smile just listening to the conversation, the laughing, just the sound of girls being girls.  I have always wanted my house to be the one that the kids go to after school. The hang out spot.  Part of me feels that if I can create that environment now it will carry through to when they are older and when I'll want to feel even a little bit connected to whats going on in their lives.  It's funny sometimes how I'll ask the girls about their days and how I hear nothing of importance.  But, when I'm in the kitchen baking cookies and they think I'm not listening I hear all about the ins and outs of the day.  Sometimes just the act of us working on those cookies together, helps to drop the  guard down and out comes the sharing.  I love that.  So selfishly I'm not always looking to ship my kids off because I feel like I'm missing out on all that goodness.

I was talking with another Mom at Jess' gym class today and she was talking about her two kids and how exhausted she was and how she looked forward to when her little one got into school.  I laughed a little because I thought I guess I should feel that way, but I feel exactly the opposite.  I love when they come home from school.  I am dreading having Jess start preschool.  I will count down the hours until I can come pick her up.  Then the two of us will count down until we can pick up her sisters.  The walls of this house are meant to be filled with happy little voices. 

So do I lock my princesses up in my tower and keep all their joy just to myself?  No, of course not.  Part of growing up is going to peoples house, doing play dates, and spending time away from the watchful eye of Mom and Dad.  But will I go out of my way to find places to ship them off to?  No way.  Will I hope they choose our house as the place to hang out?  You bet.  Because a house without that sweet laughter is really just a house.