Car Pools and Doggie Dates

Little A's newest "cousin" is of the four-legged variety. While not yet giving up hope on having another child (or two), my sister and her family took charge of a puppy over the New Year, and said puppy is now nearly a year old. He goes everywhere dogs are permitted with his human family, especially on weekends.

One Saturday at my parents' house, Little A and his cousins, plus doggie, got to play together. It was his first time to play with this particular animal, and the photos sent by my nieces show they had a grand time chasing each other around the house. It was very different to his interactions with our cat, and he seemed to enjoy it a lot, as did his new canine friend.

On the human interaction side, Little A now has a schoolmate to share the car with on Fridays after school. One of the mums asked if her son could find a ride to her office a few days a week, and I volunteered Fridays.

All new things require an adjustment period, and this was no different. Little A was used to calling the shots after school, on where to go and what to do. So as expected, there was whining and crying the first two Fridays. By week three, however, he'd gotten used to having to make a drop-off prior to his Friday after-school activity, and on week 4 we took the little boy with us to the shops while his mum was stuck in a meeting.

This little boy is quite the opposite of Little A as he is very, very verbal. I know Little A senses the difference when we are in the car and schoolmate chats nonstop about things we see, and what he is interested in. Still, he has adjusted well and knows he is paid no less attention to simply because I cannot hear him from the driver's seat. The other boy also adjusts to Little A's pace and interests. While I found it physically challenging to monitor two boys in separate parts of a play centre, it was managed, and when the schoolmate's mum came to collect him, we talked about doing it again.

I look forward to more play dates, whether or not the children actually play together. There is awareness, and consideration of the other, which is always a good thing.