As I sit here on the porch watching my kids run around in the yard having a water fight with the neighbors, I have been thinking ahead to the summer that we will have. My kids are all at an age now where their time with friends does not need to include me. They can play in the yard together with me supervising from the window. When they have friends over, I am not generally asked to be included in their play (except sometimes with Briggs and his little friends.) When we are outside, there are usually neighborhood friends that come over to play. We have next door neighbors, 3 doors down neighbors, around the corner neighbors, and backyard neighbors who are around our kids' ages and are some of our kids' closest friends. Previous summers, adding extra kids to the equation made more work for me and so having friends over was a special treat. This school year saw us hosting more playdates and inviting friends to join us for more activities. And now, although only a week in to summer, the kids have already spent hours playing with the neighbors in the yard, we've planned activities with friends, and there are multiple play dates with school friends already on the calendar. I'm still looking forward to lazy summer days with my kids, but I know that time with just the 3 of them will be less frequent than in summers past. Of course I'll cherish the time with my 3, but I'll also look forward to our new summer routine where my role is limited to writing a blog post on the porch while watching my kids laugh and scream and chase their friends.
Cousins make the best friends.
Briggs on a play date at the park with his friend, Sterling.
Briggs hosted his friends Dava and Keiko for a playdate after pre-school on their last week of school.
Staley and Lilian on the first of many summer days together.
