Shelby has attached herself to a pony tailed little girl at kindergarten and taken to calling her "my new friend". From where I sit, she seems nice enough and has announced each morning on the playground that her dad is going to call me to set up a play date.
A few days go by and we have the September birthday party at school. "My new friend"'s mom shows up, wearing an oversized t-shirt and Levi's from 1991. She's a teacher at the Catholic School. She is direct and serious and informs me that her daughter would like a play date and weekends are the only time they can make that arrangement possible.
All of a sudden, all the fun has escaped me. I picture our children chasing each other around the park while this woman and I sit across from each other on concrete benches, wearing pressed business suits discussing the state of agriculture today and what the stock market has done to BP Financial this year. (That doesn't make any sense because I don't know anything about that stuff). I am scowling at the sunshine. We are sharing a spot of tea and adjusting the tightness of our business girdles.
Parenting just got a lot more formal. What do I do about this proposed play date with a woman that isn't fun?
A few days go by and we have the September birthday party at school. "My new friend"'s mom shows up, wearing an oversized t-shirt and Levi's from 1991. She's a teacher at the Catholic School. She is direct and serious and informs me that her daughter would like a play date and weekends are the only time they can make that arrangement possible.
All of a sudden, all the fun has escaped me. I picture our children chasing each other around the park while this woman and I sit across from each other on concrete benches, wearing pressed business suits discussing the state of agriculture today and what the stock market has done to BP Financial this year. (That doesn't make any sense because I don't know anything about that stuff). I am scowling at the sunshine. We are sharing a spot of tea and adjusting the tightness of our business girdles.
Parenting just got a lot more formal. What do I do about this proposed play date with a woman that isn't fun?
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