Parenthood: A Work in Progress : Familiar faces

I knew I would know people.

Someday.

And yet, unless you've done it, it is impossible to describe the feeling when you know that it is literally impossible to run into anyone you know.

Zero.

Nil.

Ever.

Well, not forever.

People sound incredulous. "Of course, you're going to meet people!" No, no, you don't understand. Logically I know that I will meet people. Logically I know that my children will make new friends. Logically I know someday I will look back and say "Gee, remember when we didn't know one human being in this entire city?!" It is the nonlogical side where the emotions live.

So it doesn't surprise me that my children feel the way they do. They don't know anyone at school. And everyone in their classes has been in together since at least September, maybe have been in the same school since kindergarten, or preschool. Like my kids had been.

And then, only a few weeks after starting at their new school, we went to the public playground .... and there was a girl from Ashley's class. And Ashley ran around the playground with the girl. And the girl's mom and I exchanged phone numbers for a playdate. And then there was a boy from Aidan's class. And he and Aidan played together, and the boy nicely came over to say goodbye before he left.

I turned around, and there was a woman I knew from church. I had been introduced to her at our new church, and she had already been so kind, had given me her phone number, had said she and her husband would like to have us all over for dinner. And, after seeing two students from school, and seeing the woman from church, my brain said to my emotions "See? You will meet people. Your children will meet people."

I am getting to know our neighbors, and they have been so friendly! It has also felt like a special gift to get to know the senior citizen couple, Ed and Anne, down the street, who came and welcomed us the first day, gave us a map of the area, highlighted with all the stores and necessary landmarks, give me interesting newspaper articles, call me in for a visit with my dog when I'm out walking. They offered to help, and one day when my daughter was sick with flu, and the pediatric nurse suggested popsicles, I called my neighbor and within only a few minutes Ed delivered them to my doorstep. For a mom with a sick child, and the nearest family several states away, this kindness meant so much. Anne offered to come over and help me unpack all the enormous boxes containing the contents of our china cabinet.

The previous owner of the house had wanted to talk with us. She is 87 years old, retired in Florida, and she and her husband had been friends with Ed and Anne since moving into this house in the 1970s. She was warm and caring and told me I "could not know how much it meant to her to be able to talk with me." They were the only owners of this home before us. I had already felt a very good vibe in this home, and her welcome made me feel even better about living here now. We inherited a large globe, which had spent years in the family room, and the kids were fascinated by all the red dots, indicating all the places she and her husband had visited, in the U.S. and around the world.

Our lab has already had two playdates with the lab next door. We are meeting children on the block, and there are two teenage babysitters living across the street.

So far, so good.