Fresh from a busy weekend of meeting, playing and coffee drinking*, I had a “Carrie” moment when I realised parallel play is not just for toddlers, it happens to mammies and daddies too (or mommies if it was a real Carrie moment).
I had the pleasure of meeting up with not one, not two, but seven of my lovely friends at different stages over the weekend. We all had kids in tow, we all played and we all drank coffee but mostly we just did it alongside each other rather than “together”. Sentences were started but not finished. Questions were asked but went unanswered. And on at least three occasions, I sprang to my feet and darted across a padded floor stroke playground mid-conversation to either split up a toddler fight or scoop up a little boy who had fallen/was pushed/realised I’d dared to move my eyes away from him for five seconds. If I’m honest, I had to do this waaaay more often than my friends but sure that’s just the way my little man rolls.
I suppose this is just the way it’ll be for the next few years and I’m happy to take the learning that if I want to have a chat, I need to schedule my catch up times after 8pm and preferably with wine. All other get togethers will be strictly side-by-side play – not together play – with lots of shouting and running around. Bring it on!
*It’s a hard life I know. I also ran my first ever 5k so I think I deserved the rest of the easy weekend and Daddy deserved a lie in 🙂
I had a similar gathering with friends in my house recently, although I followed the rule of after 8pm. I invited all of my friends over for a much needed catch up session over nice nibbles. All was going well until my little girl decided she wanted to join in with the big girls, I had to bring her down to say hello to everyone and then leave my friends chatting while I started our bedtime routine all over again. So sometimes even following the after 8pm rule doesn’t work!
Hilarious curiousrachell! We’ll have to refine the rule further so – let’s say “off site” meet ups after 8 😉
Good idea! Now I’ll just have to work on being really really quiet while sneaking off site, for some reason whenever our little lady is asleep I become as clumsy and loud as an elephant!
You need to speak to my husband. He says I need to work on my “ninja skills”. Apparently it’s all in bending the knees 😉
Ha ha maybe he should run classes in “ninja sneaking skills” for parents 🙂 I think there would definitely be a market!
It’s amazing what you find out about your friends when you finally get to meet up sans kids – conversations can finally be finished, and you don’t come away thinking “did she say she was moving to France or that she bought a new dress in French Connection…” Though sometimes the wine has the same efffect as the kids 🙂