Now that we are in weather that allows for some degree (ha) of playing outside, we're confronted with the social challenges that a street full of kids engenders.
There have been politics and hurt feelings, but those fences are mended now.
What I need to do is back off and not be a helicopter parent. When my son said he was going over to a neighbor's house, one resident of which had caused him emotional harm in the past, he said, "I'm not the same sensitive boy I was. I can handle him." Wow.
So it makes me happy to see both of my children outside and playing and dealing with the real world. I reminded my son and daughter, you don't have to best friends to play with somebody, and if someone isn't nice, you don't have to hang out with them.
And similarly, my kids are of an age when they don't need me hovering around them. They are bright, capable, sensitive kids (in spite of what my sons declares) who can determine if they are in an uncomfortable situation and if so, how to extricate themselves from it.
I need to chillax. The kids are fine. I need to let them be.
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