I had one of those moments that I knew would come, one of those small beautiful moments that I'd seen happen to other mothers on the playground, and it was amazing.
Just as I was thinking it was about time to go home, a small group of kids about my kids' age arrived at the playground, and I thought, "Oh, here they come. I wonder if my kids know any of them."
Now that Emma and Ethan have started school, I knew this moment would come soon. Emma looked over...and started yelling, "Hi! Hi!" Then she ran over to one of the kids.
"Emma!" the little girl beamed. Awww...they were so excited to see each other. Then Ethan spotted her and ran over too. He got right in her face with a big smile, as if to say, "Look, I'm here, too! Do you see me too?"
"Ethan!" the sweet little girl said.
"I didn't know you were here!!!" said Ethan.
"I didn't know you were here either!" she giggled. "Come on, let's go!" The three of them ran up the stairs and all over the big toy.
I couldn't have smiled any bigger. I think I almost cried. The joy that I had for those big kids is indescribable. I know it may seem like no big deal. But I stood there in the grass at a distance with my hands on my cheeks. I felt like I was watching a movie of my kids' lives. And I felt like I was invisible, just an onlooker. I was no longer needed for every little meet-and-greet, no longer hanging in the balance for every possible mishap. They were so big and so happy. I watched as the little girl introduced Emma and Ethan to her other friends. It was amazing. "This is Emma, and this is Ethan. They're my friends."
I couldn't leave after that. I wanted them to have a nice long time of playing together before we had to go home.
It was just the other day that I brought them to this park for the very first time. I'd see other kids meeting and recognizing each other from school, and I'd think, wow, I wonder what that feels like...to have your kids knowing people that you don't know, to have them out in the world making friends on their very own.
After a while, Ethan came running over to me. "We know her, Mom! She knows our names! She's not in my class, but she knows my name!"
"Well, what's her name?"
"Ummm...Aleesia!!" as he jumped high in the air, full of childhood excitement.
