Meg and Her Girlfriend

Sorry I’m writing about Meg all week. In case you can’t tell, we missed her a ton when we were on our trip. I’m still so glad to be back hanging out with her. I thought she was happy to have me home, too . . . until her friend Lexi came over.

Meg and Lexi are 6 months apart in age, Lexi being the older of the two. We met the Kibbe family when Lexi was about 5 months old, and Meg was about negative three weeks . . . I had a big ole’ belly ready to pop, and I was flaunting it at our neighborhood pool. Lexi’s mom, my now great friend Holly, asked if we were having a boy or a girl, what we were naming her, when I was due . . . all of the friendly get-to-know-you-and-your-new-baby questions. Then when Meg was born, the Kibbes came over to congratulate us, and the girls have been friends ever since.

Okay, so maybe they just played near one another for the past year or so. But we’ve been calling them ‘friends’ for a long time now. I remember our first true play-date with Lexi was back in January of this year . . . six month old Meg just sat up and played with the toys she could reach, while one year old Lexi ran around the room, climbing on everything. I was in awe at how much Meg would change over the next six months.

(Incidentally, that playdate was also a memorable occasion for another reason . . . I came home dripping with envy over Lexi’s playroom, and Jim and I started discussing whether or not we had enough space in our house. About a week later, we started the wheels turning in the direction of moving . . . and now we are settled in our new house. It really all started with that playdate! Holly hates to think that she had anything to do with our move – we loved being in the same neighborhood. But, we’re only about 5 miles apart now, so we still see each other all the time).

Yeah, yeah . . . you have a friend with a little one Meg’s age . . . get to the point.

Sorry, I digress.

The reason for the blog is that, Wednesday, when I least expected it, Meg really became a little girl . . . all because she had a friend over to play. Lexi came by for a few hours and hung out with us. It was just me, Meg, and Lexi . . . but really, after about 10 minutes of playing, I realized it was Meg and Lexi’s playdate, and that I was really not invited. The girls played and played and played together. They filled the grocery cart, pushed it around, emptied it, and started over. They ate lunch together, sharing what was on their plates (okay, so I helped them share the food, but I know they would have if they could have). They played outside with Meg’s wagon. I kid you not – Meg pulled Lexi around in the driveway. We spent time in our playroom (still very 2nd rate compared to Lexi’s) . . . the girls rocked on horses and chairs and chatted the whole time. Lexi’s vocabulary is huge . . . Meg’s not so much, but she answered Lexi in the best way she knew how. They goofed around together for nearly 3 hours. Then, when it looked like Meg was so ready for a nap she might fall over, both girls went into their separate napping areas and CRASHED. Both slept until 4 o’clock, and then it was time for Lexi to go home.

On Wednesday, those two became real, true friends.

I saw a little glimpse of my future. As I was transferring a load of laundry from wash to dry, the girls ran up and down the hallway and had a grand old time. They weren’t paying any attention to what boring old mom was up to. I envisioned nights of sleep overs, where I’m doing other things around the house and listening to girl chatter in another room. I envisioned Meg and her friend, curled up on her bed, talking about boys and listening to music that I’ll probably hate (isn’t that what parents are supposed to do – hate their kids’ music?) . . . all while Jim and I are sitting on the couch watching a movie. It was such a rush of feeling . . . it was amazing.

I also felt a little sad. My girl growing so independent. She’s become her own person, with friends, favorites, and real, true opinions. She is certainly not the baby I once held in my arms. Heck, she hardly lets me hold her in my arms at all any more. She’s becoming a kid right before our eyes.

It made me realize . . . I won’t always be the one she runs to . . . her friends will take on some of that as she grows up. Her world won’t continue center around me. I won’t always know what she’s up to. There will be times in the future where I’ll interrupt her conversation with someone else so that she can explain to me what she’s talking about. Wow. We have a lot of things ahead of us.

I know . . . I always get ahead of myself. Meg is 16 months old this week, so no sleepovers or panty raids any time soon. But, just the glimpse I got on Wednesday was enough to make me realize AGAIN how awesome it is to be Meg’s mom. I’ll never forget that playdate, I swear. It was quite an occasion for me.

My big ole’ Meg and her friends. Ah, what a week.