We had some of Brayden’s friends over for a playdate the other day.  They used to be like siblings to him. . . I babysat them for an entire school year, so they became really close.  But that was when he was not even two yet, so he only remembers bits and pieces of our time there.

I also grew to love them dearly.  When you spend nearly a full day with a child, even if they aren’t your own, you grow to love them.  They nestle themselves into the nooks in your heart and burrow little love holes there.  Reading books and making lunches, playtime in the basement.  Watching your son build relationships with littles close to his age and learn sharing and communication skills right along with them.  What a grand time we had.  

He still gets to see Hayden at church, and has asked me more than once if he could go to his house to play. So instead we had them over to see us.  It was really fun watching them interact now that they can all talk in sentences.

I caught up with the kids, as much as you can catch up with a three and four year old.  So . . . what do you like for lunch, Addie.  I do not like mac and cheese.  I like peanut butter and jelly.  Oh, that’s good.  And what about you, Hayden?  I like HOT mac and cheese.  HOT.  Not old mac and cheese.  Clearly, the boy knows what he likes.

Brayden was so excited to have them over.  He wanted them to stay for lunch and sleep in his room for naps and spend the rest of their lives there.  He gets attached quickly, that one.  He also gets stuck in a rut and can’t look past an idea once he has formed it. . . so he asked them about twenty times if they wanted to play doctor with him before I finally explained that he should probably ask them to play with a different toy.  He got a much better response on the next round of questioning.  Hayden, wanna play soccer with me?  

Hayden and Brayden jammed away on a toy drum while Addie vacuumed the rug and cooed at Carter while looking at him through a pair of binoculars.  I learned that Hayden has some pretty darn good rhythm and Addie likes to sing into microphones.  

What a silly time we had.

Then we made some muffins.  I learned that entertaining a baby while having three children help you bake takes about ten arms and twenty-foot long legs that can leap back and forth between all areas preventing disasters, sticking in pacifiers, stirring, pouring and divvying up who gets to do what part.  I learned that it’s really funny watching three kids trying to squash a banana with a fork.  I learned that if I need a second to get the next part organized, I can stick a dozen mini chocolate chips in front of each of them and in return get a grace period of about a minute.  Not a bad trade.  But I won’t tell you how many dozen I gave them.

I hope Brayden can continue his friendship with these old friends of his.  One that continues on into their adult years.  They are sweet kids and they have sweet parents.  We will treasure their presence in our lives, even if it’s only a little morsel here and there.  Those nooks in my heart will always have a place for them and I’m sure Brayden would say the same.