Thank God for Kid Kits.

I now understand why my parents were so reluctant to allow us to have friends over.

It's exhausting. 

Raina Telgemeier

You have to entertain ("Moooom, they don't want to play with any of my toys anymore. What should we do?!?") You have to play referee. ("He's not sharing!!!"). You are not responsible for just your child anymore. ("Get down from there, please. It's not safe to climb on the balcony.")  You want them to stop eating up all your food. ("Can we have a snack, please?" "Oooo, can I have one, too?!") You just want these kids out of your space as soon as humanly possible. "Okay, kids, it's time for you to go play tag outside. Ready...set...GO!")

Or wait...maybe that's just me. 

The awesomeness of a family friendly apartment complex is the built-in friends. There is always someone for AB to play with. There is  a communal safe space in the courtyard where I can keep an eye (and ear) on her. There are moments where I am filled with joy as I hear their laughter or one of the other kids calling her name as they play hide and seek. Awesome, awesome, awesome. 

But sometimes, outside play just isn't enough. Sometimes, kids want to play with the seemingly new and exotic toys of the other kids. Sometimes, an only child craves the opportunity to play older sibling to other kids. Sometimes, said kid will desire to play hostess only to get quickly overwhelmed to the point where said kid is no longer having fun. 

Very quickly, I had to learn how to navigate this new development in her social life. And I am still struggling with it. The worst thing is that this is what I wanted! This was on my bucket list, to live in a place that is large enough for AB to have her own space and feel comfortable having friends over. Mission accomplished. But be careful what you wish for, right?

I knew that the dozens of Baby Sitter's Club books that I consumed years ago were going to come in handy one day. To ensure my sanity, I had AB and I create our own Kid Kits, one for toys/activites/games and one for snacks. The toys/activities/games are ones that she is not invested in and will not shed tears over if they are broken, used up or lost. The snacks are cheap but healthy and do not leave me feeling that I have to do my grocery shopping for a four children instead of my one kiddo. The kits are refreshed monthly and my stress level and AB's meltdowns have been greatly reduced. 

So, here's to allowing AB to binge read the Geronimo Stilton series (and spinoffs) for who knows what seeds of awesomeness are being planted in her brain that will bear fruit just when she needs them.