Volunteering in Link and Gleek’s classrooms went well. Link’s teacher has a structured program for me to participate in. Gleek’s teacher will be using me for odd jobs. Both are fine with me. It is nice to have a chance to help other people’s children as well as my own. I really like being able to see how my kids abilities compare to the other kids in the class. Not because I need them to be best, but because it is nice to be reassured that my kids are mostly normal.
At noon there was an impromptu picnic on my next door neighbor’s front lawn. She’d been watching the kids of my other next door neighbor. The mother of the babysat kids arrived home with enough mexican take out for everyone. At first I felt like a bit of a mooch. I hadn’t been the one babysitting after all. It quickly became apparent that there really was enough food for us all. So Patch and I sat down for a picnic with our neighbors.
During the lunch I had one of those “when did I become the experienced mom” moments, as I watched my youngest play happily with my neighbors’ middle kids. I don’t feel any older or more experienced than these two other moms, but I have both a teen and a pre-teen, while their oldests are both still in younger grades.
The lunch wound down as the kids all ran off to ride bikes. It was a joy to see seven five-and-under kids all riding bikes and wagons. When one of the five year olds got tired of pulling the wagon, I got up and took a turn. For a while I even pulled the wagon while toting a baby on one hip. I think my neighborhood is one of the reasons I’m content to leave the baby and toddler years behind. There will always be little ones nearby for me to love.