“I had one of the best moments just last week, when I picked my son up from a playdate at friend's house.
Earlier that day, he'd wanted to cancel. My son is in second grade, but he was in kindergarten when the pandemic started. This playdate was going to be his first time riding home from school with a classmate. Ever.
The morning of, he asked in a worried voice,
‘Can I just come home instead?’
We must be going too fast for him, I thought. Two months ago, we were quarantining, and now I expect him to go on adventures? Looking at his nervous face, it was all I could do to keep from saying, ‘Yes, of course!’
Luckily, I kept my mouth shut, keeping my fears and my ideas to myself. I took a deep breath. Before I could jump in, he asked me another question.
‘What if I want to come home early?’
We talked about it. I asked questions. Turns out, he was worried about feeling stuck there if he wasn't having fun. I offered to let him bring an old phone along, that way he could text me if he wanted me to pick him up early. He agreed happily.
When I got there later that day, he was having a blast — phone left forgotten in his bag. He and his friend told me in rushed gibberish about their adventures, and my son only agreed to head home with me after I promised that we'd schedule another playdate soon.
We both smiled the whole way home, as I whispered grateful prayers to the steering wheel—thank goodness I let him talk first.”
- Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of 8&21