Playdate Humility

Playdates are times when children experience the world of the other, and it is sometimes filled with envy. "Hey, I don't have that toy!" " You are so lucky!" " My mom NEVER lets me watch that!" Today, Gabe hosted his friend Alec. As they played with Playmobil toys, of which admittedly, Gabe has a plethora, Alec said he only has one Playmobil toy, and I was proud of Gabe when he didn’t respond. Well, later Alec picked up a piece of another toy and said, “What is this?”. When I noted that it was a Tinkertoy, Alec queried, “What’s a tinkertoy?”. Gabe, not skipping a beat said, “You don’t get out much, do you?”. Given my own propensities for sarcasm, I shouldn’t be surprised. I don’t imagine that Gabe would look at Alec’s Wii or DVD collection and wonder if he doesn’t get out enough, but perhaps he does. At any rate, what does it mean for a child to equate his toy collection with seeing the world? Playdates are times where you really begin to understand kids, particularly your own. There is something humbling about seeing my son in the midst of his relationships with peers.