Friends Are Important

Super Z is all about his friends these days. I remember when he was younger, he was content to do most things alone. Like the Princess is now, he was a master at entertaining himself. He has always been able to carry a conversation all on his own and his imagination is boundless. Lately however, his social life has been blooming.

Not only do kids come from far and wide for the free popsicles, but some actually stay to play. Randy and I can't get over the fact that Z knows more people in the neighborhood than we do...and they know him! Old men walking down the street will stop with a friendly, "How are you today, Z?"


Some of the kids have become regulars. The boy in the picture above has been coming over since the first day we moved in more than two years ago. He is often included in Z's stories. He comes over at least three times a week to make a mess, bicker over toys, and play all of the dirty dangerous things that boys play.



There are several other friends. There are the older kids who come to play with the cool toys and actually get to stay because they seem to be a good influence on Z. (The not so good influences don't stick around very long at all.) There are the kids who are Z's age who have only recently started to come around. Many of their parents now deem them old enough to visit houses several houses down. (I am not there yet. All friends must come to us.)

There are also our favorite friends, the cousins and best friends that don't live near us. These special friends we don't get to see as often, but we talk about them just as much, "Tater is getting better at baseball. We might start a team.", "Ethan can ride a bike Mom. You told me that. He might be five years old now.", "Sissy is the only girl that I like.", "Please let Katie Belle live with me.", "Can Samuel and Thomas crawl yet? Are they getting ready to talk?"

Near and far, we can't get enough of our friends.