A Full Weekend

It turned out to be quite the busy weekend -- still full of grief peering over the shoulder, but what can you do.

Eldest had a friend spend the night Friday, then Saturday morning we took the fam over to another friend's home for a birthday party that was more of a family hang out with paintball in the woods for whomever wanted to partake plus cake. Everyone had fun -- except perhaps youngest who also seems to be the one left out. Eldest's friend has a sibling youngest's age, but she's a girl and the other family who joined also has a girl that age, so the two girls glommed together and were uninterested in youngest. And eldest with his friends his age had no interest in youngest and...it's hard to be the youngest sometimes. 

I did what I could, as did hubby, to engage and entertain, but it's awfully rough to be the one kid who doesn't have kids who want to play with you.

I fear more of that is on tap for today as we've a playdate and the friend youngest's age is, again, female, and completely disinterested in anything youngest might enjoy doing and vice versa. 

People say gender doesn't matter but, well, yes it does.

Sunday was church and then an evening cookout with another group of friends this time as a laidback birthday party for youngest's friend (who amusingly is female but happily tomboyish and well content to play with him - so I know it's not all gender, but it certainly can be a factor). Plus there's a younger brother who gets along well enough so the three of them are thick as thieves. Eldest has a friend his age as well among the four siblings (and the second oldest is another tomboy who doesn't mind running with teh older boys) and so there was much fun had by all this time.

Except, of course, that in this family I'm the odd man out as the wife and I have a bit of a fraught relationship. She gets ticked at me for breathing here and there (honestly, I never know what I do that sets it off) and stops speaking to me then eventually gets over and acts like all is well. Any attempts to try and clear the air or figure out what I've done so as to avoid it in the future are stonewalled or dismissed and frankly, it's just so much drama and anxiety to be her friend that I never really enjoy hanging with them until it's over because I don't know what I'm walking into.

Regardless, it's all done now and we're off to a new week. What's in store? No one really knows.