I realized a bit ago that people probably think we don't want to hang around kids. Maybe even that we don't like them. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. Both Jason and I love kids. In fact, one of the reasons I first fell in love with Jason because of his love of kids.
**Time for a flashback**
In the first month of Jason and I meeting I went to watch him teach swimming lessons. He had four little 3 year old girls in his class. They were out on a deck in the middle of the water and needed to get back to the edge...and Jason knew just the way! He help his arms out in a "T" and said "Jump on" and they just into his arms, two on each. My heart instantly melted. From what I can tell from my friends it's kind of rare to have a guy be so open with little kids (keep in mind he was a 21 year old college student)! I have no doubt his years of teaching swimming and the fact that he has a zillion cousins had something to do with it!
**Back to present day**
There are a lot of people out there who I want to become better friends with who have kids. It's my goal to talk with those individuals before summer starts so that they know that we most certainly don't mind being around kids! I'm not saying I'm offering up free babysitting services BUT we'd probably do it if asked :) It would be very fun to be invited to BBQs or game evenings with our friends and their families. Since we don't know if kids are in the cards for us...we might as well enjoy other peoples kids!
With Carrie {barre3 Vancouver owner} and her kiddos at the zoo!
TJ, Kitty, and Nee Nee {he can't say Annie}!
It's hard to be the ones without kids when pretty much everyone else has them. It's hard because we tried for so long {another emotional post on that coming soon}. And while we don't know if kids are in our future we do hope that we can build friendships with all these new people we've met - mainly all my barre3 people!! I know a lot of people get together based on their kids ages, sports teams, etc. We don't have that luxury but we most certainly aren't opposed to hanging out with kiddos! I think I just need to be upfront about that and share our views...people probably just don't know them! Another way to make sure this happens is to invite people over to our house, kids included.
Here's to a summer {and longer} of new friends, their kids, and US!
Hey Annie! I totally know how you feel. I have a few friends who are older than me and have kids and I think it can be hard! One of my closest friends has kids and she knows I adore her kids so I get to do lots of kid things with her which is fun!! :) I bet if you make it clear to your friends that you like spending time with children you will have a fun filled summer! xo
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of what it was like when I was getting to know Amy in Corvallis. I really wanted to get to know her better, but I didn't know what kinds of activities to suggest we do together because I didn't know anything about kids, and I could sense how busy her life was. I tried to be really open and flexible with scheduling things and let her suggest things that would work for them. I think communicating your interest in getting to know not only the friend but their whole family is great.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie! I wanted to know more about this Barre3 Ambassador thing you do! Can you email me at laurareid1025@gmail.com? Love reading your posts! Great job so far!
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