Friends That Fit

Last night, JP's buddy, Cooper, and his family came over for dinner, beer/wine and to watch the Independence Bowl (Vandy got smoked by NC State).  Jude make Rotel cheese dip and at halftime, Russ and I picked up pizzas from Pizza Perfect.

Predictably, the boys got bored with the football game and went outside in the backyard after dinner.  The record 70 degree temperatures in late December, no doubt, made it impossible for them to stay inside.  As Russ and I watched, the boys and Cooper's sister, Ella, played football.  When I saw our next-door-neighbor's 10-year old daughter watching the kids play, I invited her over.  Later, the kids switched to playing tag and ran next door to Erin's house, where the light was better.

Really, it was pretty close to a perfect evening.  It's nice to be friends with a family that fits together so well with ours.  Jude and I enjoy spending time with Russ and Susanna and the kids play so well together.  It's just a good fit.

Our life is so different than it was before we had children.  Our friends are different, too, because so many of our friends from the ultimate frisbee days don't have children or have older children.  It's a bit sad, because it's hard to stay in touch with friends from the so called "old days."  It's natural, I guess, but our life seems to be divided into two parts, "BC" - before children and "AC" - after children.

Cooper slept over and as I left the house this morning, Jude and the boys were preparing for a trip to the Northwest YMCA to swim in the indoor pool.

As an aside, I was upstairs walking out of my office yesterday afternoon when Joe, just up from his nap, ran by me in the playroom at full speed, a streak of color flying by me.  "Whoa!  Where are you going, Joe?" I asked.  "Is Cooper here, yet?!?" he replied.  Joe adores Cooper and, in turn, Cooper is great with Joe.  Without question, in Joe's mind when Cooper sleeps over with JP, he's really sleeping over with both of the boys.

In fact, all three boys slept in sleeping bags in the floor of the playroom last night, with Cooper in between JP and Joe.  Joe was in heaven, for sure, as he got to stay up late, talk to the boys and watch intently as they traded football cards.  Joe is 4 going on 8 +.

It's good to have friends that fit, isn't it?