The M Street Gang
There are a lot of long stories I could tell you about The Child and friendship. She has some very dear friends that she's known since babyhood who no longer live nearby but with whom the bond is still strong. Her bestest buddy ever moved away after third grade, which has been a sorrow to us all, but they still get together and talk as often as they can.
School isn't really the motherlode for friends. There are people she plays with, but no one has yet risen to the place of after school/weekend sleepover/giggling on the phone that was previously held by Bestest Buddy. And of course, she is also an only child.
When The Spouse was growing up, every house in the 'hood was full of kids and they all played together all the time. He is still in touch with some of the guys with whom he formed deep bonds while dirt biking on what is now the Microsoft campus. Growing up on a farm, I didn't have a "pack" but I had my siblings, and in the summer the addition of the New Jersey cousins. There was always someone to play with if I wanted.
And so, it has been a sadness and weight to my mother's heart that The Child has not been similarly blessed. She's a good kid, a sweet kid with an imagination like no other. She's fun. But there has been a dearth of friendship fodder. Until now.
I think I've mentioned that about half our 'hood is Orthodox Jews. These folks make for wonderful neighbors in many respects but their children, while polite, are not encouraged to play with the goyim. Only one family in all our years here crossed that divide and, of course, they moved away. There are other goyim but they all have younger children. Younger children who have suddenly grown up.
There is a pack now, the M Street Gang, we call them. The Child is older than all of them, significantly so in some regards, but it doesn't matter. These are not, for now, the friends to whom you confess your crush on Daniel Radcliffe or your desire to become a veternarian AND astronaut while still being married with 10 kids. These are the exact sort of friends one needs in the neighborhood: bike riding-berry picking- fort building friends. These are the friends with cool parents who'll take you swimming. These are the friends who, with your cool mom's permission, help you paint your playhouse. These are the friends who crash in and out of each other's homes, wear each other's clothes and eat at each other's tables.
This has been a great summer for The Child, making these friends and playing with them every day. I overheard them talking the other day about how they'll still play when school starts, "After we finish our homework, of course", admonished The Child. And that may be the rub. The Child, as I mentioned, is older. She's starting middle school, with all that entails, plus her extracurriculars of choir and volleyball. I wonder if there will be a lot of time with The Gang once school starts. But I also know that age isn't everything in a friendship. Some of my dearest friends today were in diapers when I was in high school. There will undoubtedly be some significant ebb and flow within The Gang because of their ages now. But who knows? They are certainly laying a solid foundation of memories. They are learning some important lessons about communication, respect and tolerance. Maybe this is the start of a Sisterhood after all. Either way, it sure is fun now.
School isn't really the motherlode for friends. There are people she plays with, but no one has yet risen to the place of after school/weekend sleepover/giggling on the phone that was previously held by Bestest Buddy. And of course, she is also an only child.
When The Spouse was growing up, every house in the 'hood was full of kids and they all played together all the time. He is still in touch with some of the guys with whom he formed deep bonds while dirt biking on what is now the Microsoft campus. Growing up on a farm, I didn't have a "pack" but I had my siblings, and in the summer the addition of the New Jersey cousins. There was always someone to play with if I wanted.
And so, it has been a sadness and weight to my mother's heart that The Child has not been similarly blessed. She's a good kid, a sweet kid with an imagination like no other. She's fun. But there has been a dearth of friendship fodder. Until now.
I think I've mentioned that about half our 'hood is Orthodox Jews. These folks make for wonderful neighbors in many respects but their children, while polite, are not encouraged to play with the goyim. Only one family in all our years here crossed that divide and, of course, they moved away. There are other goyim but they all have younger children. Younger children who have suddenly grown up.
There is a pack now, the M Street Gang, we call them. The Child is older than all of them, significantly so in some regards, but it doesn't matter. These are not, for now, the friends to whom you confess your crush on Daniel Radcliffe or your desire to become a veternarian AND astronaut while still being married with 10 kids. These are the exact sort of friends one needs in the neighborhood: bike riding-berry picking- fort building friends. These are the friends with cool parents who'll take you swimming. These are the friends who, with your cool mom's permission, help you paint your playhouse. These are the friends who crash in and out of each other's homes, wear each other's clothes and eat at each other's tables.
This has been a great summer for The Child, making these friends and playing with them every day. I overheard them talking the other day about how they'll still play when school starts, "After we finish our homework, of course", admonished The Child. And that may be the rub. The Child, as I mentioned, is older. She's starting middle school, with all that entails, plus her extracurriculars of choir and volleyball. I wonder if there will be a lot of time with The Gang once school starts. But I also know that age isn't everything in a friendship. Some of my dearest friends today were in diapers when I was in high school. There will undoubtedly be some significant ebb and flow within The Gang because of their ages now. But who knows? They are certainly laying a solid foundation of memories. They are learning some important lessons about communication, respect and tolerance. Maybe this is the start of a Sisterhood after all. Either way, it sure is fun now.
Labels: volleyball
cobbled together by Moi at 8:50 AM
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