Baby Steps

Yesterday afternoon, Addison, Mackenzie, and I met a group of friends for a summer playdate.  Four of my college friends and I got together to play, swim, and catch up on gossip.

The last time we were all together at this very same friend's pool, we were celebrating our sorority's Bid Day in August of 2003.  We were a group of mostly carefree, happy-go-lucky college kids, just having a good time and marking the beginning of a new semester.

Now, we are rapidly closing in on thirty, and though we are still in some ways the same happy, carefree girls we were back then, we are also very different.  We have jobs and responsibilities.  We have had life experiences that our 20-year-old selves would never have imagined.  Instead of discussing which sorority sister was 'shacking up' at her new boyfriend's apartment, we talked of marriage, babies, jobs, and sadly, a few divorces we have heard about recently.

We have seven children between us, all age two and under.  Not surprisingly, the conversation flows a little differently when you are keeping an eye on curious toddlers around a swimming pool (!), but we made the best of it...and a few of us made plans for a nice, relaxing, kid-free dinner and conversation next week.

I was pretty proud of my girls yesterday.  This is the second time this summer that I have taken them to a gathering with a swimming pool by myself, and they behaved amazingly well.  The only mishap was when Mackenzie peed on the porch by accident, but that was mostly my fault (I forgot the swim diapers), and at least it was just pee (but we're still sorry about that, Brandi!).  They backed away from the edge of the pool when I asked, they played well with the other kids, and they didn't whine too much when it was time to leave.  My girls were sweet to my friends and their children, and I couldn't be more proud. 

You other moms of multiples will probably understand the pride I feel that I was able to conquer a summertime swimming playdate without another adult along to provide an extra set of hands.  Of course, my friends and I all helped watch out for one another's children, but it was still a nice feeling to be able to do one more thing with both of my girls without feeling overwhelmed and outnumbered.

It's all about baby steps.