So awhile back we got an invite to a birthday party from a kid NOT in Owen’s class. I asked Owen and turns out he’s in a pre-K class in the building next door and sometimes they play together. It was actually the weekend of our garage sale so I RSVPed no, and the mom sent back this:
Okay. Thanks for letting us know. Kenrick really enjoys playing with Owen. Kenrick always tells me how nice your son is to him. Have a good day.
Awwww, sweet, right? Then later, I got this:
Kenrick really wants him to be there, would you like to drop him off at the party? And I don’t mind picking up your son and bringing him back to your home. I will make sure he will be safe and have a good time. I sound pushy but my son really enjoys Owen’s company. It will make him very happy.
We weren’t sure what we were going to do but man did that make us feel good. I mean, we know Owen is a nice kid, but to hear such gushing comments from another mom that hasn’t even met him? Ahhhh. So I talked to Owen’s teacher to see if I could get any scoop (like if the whole class was invited) and she just got the scoop that the parents were indeed nice and she’d trust Owen to go. Cool. So we RSVPd yes.
But, of course, remember that Owen has been a little more attached to us lately and always wants to know where we are when he’s awake…so we weren’t quite sure what might actually happen. So we talked to him about it, explaining how daddy would drop him off and then Kenrick’s mom would bring him home, and if he needed us for anything, we’d come get him immediately. He seemed okay with it, but then out of the blue would ask things like “What if I get hurt?” (we told him she’s a mommy and would know how to help him and she would call us to come get him) and “Do they have a bathroom?” (we assured him they would). And he asked us a few times if we were going to be there (we said no). I did call her and talk to her to warn her of all this and she was cool.
So, fast forward to the party and Owen was very excited. They had said we could bring him early (because the birthday boy wanted to show Owen his dinosaur collection) so we did…and Tom said he didn’t even look back after they got there! About the time he should have been coming home, I got a phone call from the mom asking if it was okay to take Owen to the pool with them because the boys were having such a great time! We said sure! (He didn’t have a suit with him, so just went in his shorts.) She finally brought him home about 3:00! So he was gone for like five hours! And didn’t have one issue! And the mom said he was just THE most polite boy and so well-behaved. Yay Owen!
That’s great. 🙂