I inadvertently ended up with an extra child today -- ALL day --
Drama Queen's friend. They're both 10 (almost), so they only get along with each other intermittently (as I discovered today), usually only when they are either tormenting 12yo
Puberty Angst Boy (as only two 10yo girls can), or teasing the 6yo
ADHD Phenom.
We played at home for as long as I could tolerate it. We went through a drive-thru for lunch (after the inevitable 4-way argument over McDonald's, Wendy's, Arby's, Chick-Fil-A, etc.). (The friend wanted to go to a sit-down, upscale salad restaurant in midtown -- obviously, an only child. I said, "Sweetie, I am not going to sit down in a restaurant with 4 children on my own -- must have a drive-thru!"). We went to
Piedmont Park with our lunch. We went to the
Dog Park with Mocha. We went to the children's playground so they could all run & climb, yell & holler. We came back and spent the rest of the afternoon by and in the pool, which was the most successful part of our day.
You might think, if a parent already has a "large" family, with 3 or more children, one more "wouldn't make any difference." You would be wrong. One more child changes everything. In not-so-subtle ways, the dynamic shift in our carefully-balanced, precarious, barely-manageable familial detente with 3 children completely falls apart. As do I.
That's why, when they ask about playdates and sleepovers, I usually say NO -- "I've got 3 crazy kids of my own, I don't need anyone else's!" (But, you notice, this week we've had 1 sleepover and 1 all-day playdate...so I am DONE for the summer!!)