Let Them Be Little

I realized last night that we had no plans for New Years Day. To remedy this, I invited our next-door neighbors over for lunch ("if you can get your rears out of bed by then" was how I asked them...). They are a really nice family, older than us (I'll guess she's about 40 and he's in his late 40's). They have 2 fantastic children, an 8-yr old boy and a 10-year old girl. When we moved here 9 months ago I had the best of intentions of meeting people and being social and inviting etc etc. Unfortunately, those intentions were somewhat derailed by bedrest and Keegen's arrival and the fact that i am who i am! Now that I feel some semblance of normalcy in my life I'm trying to get back to my neighborly, meeter-greeter plan! (HA! wish me luck!).

OK, so i really like these neighbors, but I somehow feel not so comfortable and unable to be myself around them. There is something about her energy that just doesn't put me at ease. Which is ridiculous since she is so very nice. I find myself saying the dumbest things or not having anything to say at all. We did meet just after I'd had Keegen, so can i blame it on that? The old "placental shunt" (shunting blood flow to the baby instead of mom's brain which doesn't improve until all children are out of the house) as I called it in my labor and delivery days. I'm just too self-aware/self-conscious with some people. I hoped by having them into our home and breaking bread I could get over it. We had a nice lunch, my french dip sandwiches and super-yummy crunchy salad followed by lemon bundt cake. Their daughter played with Bode--I love that. Some girls don't know how to play anymore by such a young age these days. Their son came over after lunch (he'd been at a friend's) and stayed for almost 3 hours (until it was dinnertime and Bode was close to meltdown due to no nap). I love their children for a number of reasons, but one that stands out tonight is that they are just that--children. Kids grow up so quickly in this world of ours and lose their naivite and, well, childlike nature much too soon. I love that an 8-year old can play with my almost 3-year-old all afternoon. Granted, they play very differently, but it works. I hope I can give my children a long childhood of fun and play before the world comes crashing in. Their dad is still a kid at heart, so that's on my side...