There's high school friends, college buddies, work acquaintances, sports league gads, and, at a certain point in your life, you pick up friendships called "Mommy friends.” Mommy friends are very precarious. They are interesting relationships in that your kids have to get along with her kids and you and the other mommy have to have some semblance of agreeableness with each other.
There's been times my kids want to buddy up so badly to another child, but the mom only wants to sell me Herbalife. There's been times the mom and I get into deep discussions about neuroscience, but my kids come back from the playdate saying I'm bored.
So, I treasure the "mommy friends” I currently have, because magically the kids get a long and I can do more than just "stand the mom.” We actually became friends outside of playdates. For example, we all get together for a girls night out about once a month in an alternate universe where COVID does not exist.
One of those friendships happens to be with a family here only temporarily from Japan. The husband is on a work visa. The boys bonded immediately over legos and fart jokes. Who would have known, little boys and fart jokes are universal across cultures! But they also enjoy baseball and swimming and Godzilla.
We've even had a Zoom playdate where we did a "show and tell " for Godzillas, explaining what each one is and does and whatever. (Apparently, there are very different Godzillas and its very important to know those differences. This is the moments where I smile and nod and try to figure out what’s for dinner.)
I learned that the US has some quirky rules when it comes to visas. The family needs to leave the country in order to comply with visa requirements. They don’t have to go back to Japan; they just have to leave the country - Mexico, Spain, South African, anywhere. They just need a stamp on their passport to prove they left and came back. Of course, they are going to go back to Japan for the summer. Good for them, I hear summers in Arizona can be unbearable.
When my youngest got wind of their summer plans, he got very concerned. Godzilla comes from Japan. His friend is going to Japan. His friend is in danger of a Godzilla attack when he goes to Japan. (I love Faulkner-style logic, my mother is a fish and all.) My spouse had to console him. No, Godzilla won’t be there during the that time; his friend will be safe.
I asked the mom to make sure her child explains to my child that Godzilla is fictional. The friend will be a more reliable witness since he is actually from Japan.
So in conclusion, I am blessed to have a handful of mommy friendships that actually work....Godzilla is just fiction… fart jokes are universally funny to little boys.
There's been times my kids want to buddy up so badly to another child, but the mom only wants to sell me Herbalife. There's been times the mom and I get into deep discussions about neuroscience, but my kids come back from the playdate saying I'm bored.
So, I treasure the "mommy friends” I currently have, because magically the kids get a long and I can do more than just "stand the mom.” We actually became friends outside of playdates. For example, we all get together for a girls night out about once a month in an alternate universe where COVID does not exist.
One of those friendships happens to be with a family here only temporarily from Japan. The husband is on a work visa. The boys bonded immediately over legos and fart jokes. Who would have known, little boys and fart jokes are universal across cultures! But they also enjoy baseball and swimming and Godzilla.
We've even had a Zoom playdate where we did a "show and tell " for Godzillas, explaining what each one is and does and whatever. (Apparently, there are very different Godzillas and its very important to know those differences. This is the moments where I smile and nod and try to figure out what’s for dinner.)
I learned that the US has some quirky rules when it comes to visas. The family needs to leave the country in order to comply with visa requirements. They don’t have to go back to Japan; they just have to leave the country - Mexico, Spain, South African, anywhere. They just need a stamp on their passport to prove they left and came back. Of course, they are going to go back to Japan for the summer. Good for them, I hear summers in Arizona can be unbearable.
When my youngest got wind of their summer plans, he got very concerned. Godzilla comes from Japan. His friend is going to Japan. His friend is in danger of a Godzilla attack when he goes to Japan. (I love Faulkner-style logic, my mother is a fish and all.) My spouse had to console him. No, Godzilla won’t be there during the that time; his friend will be safe.
I asked the mom to make sure her child explains to my child that Godzilla is fictional. The friend will be a more reliable witness since he is actually from Japan.
So in conclusion, I am blessed to have a handful of mommy friendships that actually work....Godzilla is just fiction… fart jokes are universally funny to little boys.