Saturdays Gone By

One of the events I really miss from Guadalajara was a monthly get-together some of us started last year. One Saturday a month we'd head to a local park and--well--play. The kids were let loose with some parental interaction. There was bike-riding, trampoline fun, pick-up soccer games, and whatever else came up. The parents would play, but they'd also talk, and talk, and talk. Those of us participating were primarily homeschooling, but that wasn't a requirement. What we did require was that the outing would be on a Saturday so that the working dads could come with the moms and kids. It was a lovely experience, and what I liked particularly about this group was that Kraig and I were connected with both spouses. Kraig had some deep male friendships, but they weren't just any guys. They were the husbands of my close friends and fathers of my kids' friends. I kind of knew it was a unique situation then, but being back in the States has driven that truth home.

Parents' schmooze time

Our connections here in Longview (so far) are a lot like those we had in Michigan. Kraig is forging friendships with profs (primarily male) at the university, and while I'm getting to know some of the wives through Bible study and the monthly wives get-together we aren't getting to know them in the context of couples or families. Our church so far is less connected to our weekday interactions. Or maybe I mean more that the interactions at church have only been there--they haven't overflowed into our lives. I hope that as we get to know folks better there will be more of an overflow, but that may take a while.

This post has actually gone off in a completely different direction than what I originally intended. I was thinking how it was easy to drop everything on a Saturday and head to a park with friends when we were living in an apartment in Guadalajara. Here we've got a house, and Saturday is, so far, for projects and family time (the kids got bikes today and Kraig worked to get them up and running). I wonder if that's the way things typically are for everyone here. Life is busy, and connecting may not rate as high in importance.

I shall have to ponder this.

Guadalajara Parco Metropolitano