I Hate Playdates

Sonshine whined the other day, "I want a playdate!"

The kids haven't had playdates in quite some time. Part of this is because playdates are a reciprocal thing. You invite somebody over for a playdate, then later they invite you over, and you take turns. I pretty much called in all my playdate markers (what few I had) in the run-up to the Virtual Tour, and we hadn't had anyone over since, so there was no alternative to inviting somebody over. The other part of it is that every time we have a strange kid over to our house, they inevitably begin interrogating me about why I do things differently than their mother. I know it's just normal kid curiosity, but it's as grueling as a Congressional investigation. They all, of course, think their own mother's way is the proper and normal way, and you can hear the utter shock in their voices as they notice that everything from the dishcloth you use to the laundry basket you have is different from their mom's (obviously superior) sponge and laundry bag.

Sonshine called his friend K---- and asked if she would come and play. She said yes. The minute K---- walked in the door, she asked incredulously, "How come you didn't clean up your house??"

And now I remember why we don't have very many playdates.

Don't get me wrong, I know she doesn't mean anything by it. She's only 5 years old and she doesn't understand about moving and such. But I just get sick of hearing it, like I'm just supposed to work and run a business and manage the finances of a move when we have no credit cards and cook three hot meals a day and do all the usual cleaning and laundry that comes with running a household and pack all my belongings and all my family's belongings and do all this on a very tight schedule that leaves me no time to unwind. I hear it from my kids-- "How come you haven't washed my favorite skirt?" I hear it from my husband-- "When are you going to go buy that ice cream I've been wanting?" So the very last person I would like to hear this from is a 5-year-old who doesn't even live here.

I hate playdates.