Little friends

The people who live directly across the street from us have a daughter who is 10 days older than Michaela. Lilly lives in Orange County, but is down relatively frequently to visit her grandparents. The girls have spent a little bit of time together and seemed to hit it off, but it’s not like they see each other all the time.

Today I got a call that Lilly was here and wanted to give Michaela something. I told Michaela the good news when I picked her up from school and she was so excited! The plan was, Lilly and her grandparents would come over after they had dinner. I guess their dinner went late, because Michaela waited and waited and waited. It seemed like she asked me “When is Lilly going to come over?!?!” every 10 minutes. At about 7:40, I finally told her to go look out the window to see if the neighbors’ car was in the driveway. At that very moment, they arrived home and Michaela started jumping up and down clapping.

A few minutes later, Lilly, her mom, and her grandparents walked across the street to our house. Michaela took Lilly into her playroom while the grownups chatted. The girls had a great connection, conversing (Which is the cutest thing ever, really) and sharing. I finally told Lilly’s family that they should go home and I’d bring Lilly home in a little while. And that’s how Michaela ended up having a playdate at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night.

But it gets better.

The girls had changed into a couple of princess costumes, so when it was time for Lilly to go home at 8:30 — an hour after Michaela’s bedtime! — I was escorted by Sophia the First and Snow White. The minute Lilly hit her grandparents’ threshold, she whipped off the costume, followed by Michaela, who asked for a snack. The grandparents were more than happy to oblige and that’s how two shirtless girls enjoyed an ice cream treat.

Meanwhile, because turnabout is fair play, Lilly’s family told me to go home and said they’d bring Michaela back. So after I made my exit, the girls finished their dessert and then bowled for a half hour!

In the end, Lilly’s mom carried my shirtless, shoeless burrito across the street wrapped up in one of the grandparents’ blankets. The girls said their goodbyes and made plans for another play date soon.

It was the best.