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Playdates

 Two new friends have entered our lives. The friends are Buster and Rina.


People can be a little crazy about playdates. There is an idea that, if you're hosting a playdate, you must interact with your guest at all times. At *all* times. So my dog, Salvy, was actually expelled from his first playdate with a chocolate lab, Buster; Salvy was judged to be uninterested, and he was sent back to my yard. And my daughter had a similar issue; playing with her new buddy, Rina, she dared to wander off toward the Play Doh corner, and this moment of solitude was viewed as a transgression.

Buster throws himself into my kitchen. My children--not often fond of rules--suddenly become strict disciplinarians. "Buster, out! Out!"

Rina, Susie's new friend, becomes envious of a certain plastic "Elsa wand." Rina wrestles the wand from Susie's hands, then tosses it into the "ashpit" within her family's fireplace. As if feeling guilty, Rina's mother sends an apologetic text, half-alluding to the fireplace tension.

My daughter forgets about the Elsa wand; she mentions (and mentions, and mentions) her strong wish for another social hour. I'm not sure I'm ready; I might lobby for more Lexapro, before I launch the two of us on that new mission. We'll have to see.
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