The Week in Frenemy Playdates

Before Laura got out for Spring Break last week, I happened to run into Frenemy Neighbor, and I said, "So, are you guys taking a spring break next week?" As you may recall, her daughter P is homeschooled now, except for the couple of days a week she spends at a homeschool center (it's a lot like a school). She said they were, so I thought, "Great, L loves to play with P, and surely if they're on spring break too, we'll fit into their carefully-managed schedule somewhere." So then. . .

Monday: I text Frenemy Neighbor. She likes for me to text her rather than call her, as she explained, because if I call her, her daughter will know that Laura's mom called and that she has been invited to play, and if a playdate doesn't fit in with FN's plans, P will have to be told no, which creates a problem. Alright. So I texted her, "Would P like to get together and play?" She texts back, "Maybe later. P has to finish some schoolwork." I text back, "Oh, thought y'all were on break." She texted, "We are, but we still have schoolwork." Um. . . ??? Later that afternoon, Laura did go up to their house for some basement karaoke, which staved off her imminent death from boredom, so that was a good outcome.

Tuesday: Frenemy Neighbor texts to ask if P can play at our house while she runs some errands. Certainly, I said. While the two girls are playing, Pretty Neighbor drops by with her daughter and preschooler son. She settles her pregnant self on my couch, and we dig into a nice chat. Hank and her little boy dig into Legos. Now the three girls are playing together, except P doesn't really like to play in groups, and she keeps devising ways to pull Laura away from her other friend, F. When they propose all getting on Webkinz, with Laura and P in one room and Pretty Neighbor's daughter in another, I decide to do some parenting: "Nope, no computers. I want all three of you to go play out back." Laura and F happily agree, and P says, and I quote, "My mother won't allow me to play outside, because it's too cold."

Okay, it was chilly, it was probably in the low 40's and sunny. But I am of the opinion that if a child wants to play outside and will dress appropriately, it is never too cold. I mean, this is Atlanta--we're not going to be pulling her out of a snowbank. If they really get too cold, they'll come inside, right? Do you have a policy on this?

So I said, "Alright, but no computers. Find something to do." So they played hotel, with F and P as guests in separate bedrooms, and Laura as the overworked chambermaid.

Wednesday: A painful death from boredom looms over Laura again, and all of her other playmates are busy. The weather is also warmer. So I text Frenemy Neighbor, and lo, P comes over, carrying, as she always does, her own water bottle and her cell phone. The girls play happily. A couple of hours later, Frenemy is knocking on my door. When I greet her, she says, with annoyance, "I called P's cell phone to tell her I was coming but she didn't answer!" I shrug. P's phone is on my dining room table, and nobody has heard it ring. I imagine that P will be reprimanded for not having her phone on her person, because I've seen this happen before.

There you have it. Oh, and in addition to Pretty Neighbor's daughter, L played with a couple of other friends here and there with no friction and no weirdness. Frenemy Neighbor is the epicenter of the weirdness.

Sure, this is all kind of trivial, but you know me well enough now to know that that's just the stuff I like to tell you about.

Have a great weekend, y'all! The weather here is gorgeous, I'm cleaning up my back porch for company, and the hydrangeas are blooming. I love that hydrangea bush so much that I want to make out with it, but it's kind of polleny.