Play with me!

Lawson, Lacey and I have been home together for about 7 weeks, since we pulled Lacey out of daycare to prevent her from bringing home germs to Lawson. She's super smart and loves to learn, but she's also very social, which means I hear, "Mommy will you play with me?" several hundred times a day! Another common phrase I hear is, "But I need someone to play with me!". Just the other day, I experienced a magic I've never known before! Allow me to explain.

Recently, our next door neighbors decided to rent out their house and move somewhere else. Honestly, our first thought was, "Oh no! Renters!" Living so close to NC State, we were worried we would end up with partying college students. We couldn't have been farther from wrong!

A day or two after the moving vans were gone, we carried out our 'new neighbor welcome ritual' of bringing a treat and a card to introduce ourselves. We were thrilled to find a couple about our age with two kids, 2 and 4!!! The mom and I seem to have a lot in common and Lacey gets along beautifully with the children . I'm pretty sure Lawson will love them too, but he kinda keeps to himself these days. ;)

Now on to the magic . . . For the first time in my life, I opened the door a few days ago to hear, "Can (Lacey) come out and play?" I grew up on a huge farm in the country with no neighbors, so I've never had a neighbor come over and ask me to play. She spent over an hour playing over there! Plus just the other day, the four-year-old came over to bring Lacey a picture he had made for her. We invited him in to play and within moments they had disappeared upstairs. I couldn't believe my ears; the happy chatter of two busy kids instead of, "Mommy, will you play with me?" Planned playdates are great, but impromptu walks across the grass can't be beat! :) I think this is the start of something wonderful!