So Young Now...

REALLY NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE TEEN YEARS

It's been a really emotionally draining week for the kids...and for me! They are 4 and 5, and I really can't imagine what the teens years are going to be like if emotions are riding so high at this age. In a nutshell, and to save you from the very very mundane details, Nicole and Max both have very good friends, or even best friends, who are branching out and playing with other people as a new year begins at school. I should also start by saying that Nicole and Max are also playing with other people as the new year begins. It's not that Nicole and Max are being left out, they are still great friends with their friends, they are just learning that there are other playdates going on. Although Nicole and Max are pretty close as siblings go, the other friends we are talking about are separate friends, so it is just a big coincidence that it is happening to both at the same time, during the same week, and draining the life out of us all. I point out to both that it is important to have many friends. I point out to both that they are lucky they have each other to play with (that one goes over really well!) I point out to both that they are both playing with other friends outside of their best buddies. (They don't seem to understand that it's the same thing!) I offer to make playdates with their best friends, or with other friends. Nothing has made the situation better for them! I am getting swept up in the emotion as well, because I feel so badly for them and I can't shake my sadness for what they are struggling to understand and come to grips with. I know it will be so much worse when it happens 10 years from now, but for them right now, it doesn't get much worse. Boyfriends, best friends, jealousies, break-ups, heartaches, are all on the horizon and they don't even know what's coming. Just last year, I didn't even think about those things, they were too far in the future. Now they are right here, whether I am ready or not.