Meet the Neighbors

It's not that I'm not social, but I haven't really spent a lot of time talking to my neighbors. It's been better since we had Oliver, but we still don't spend a lot of time interacting. I think part of the problem is that I haven't really adjusted to the idea that I'm a grownup, that all of the parents up and down the block are my peers. So when I talk to them, I feel a little awkward, as if they'll discover that I'm not really a grownup.

Last night I took Oliver to the local playground and ran into one of my neighbors from down the block, M. M is a SAHD with two children, one of whom is a couple of months younger than Oliver. Talk about a potential gold mine of inter-child interaction that we've ignored for a year or more. M and I had a good conversation about running as we watched our children run around the playground. It was good and by the end of the encounter, I felt much more comfortable.

And maybe I found another neighborhood playmate for Oliver.