B E B E R E

Playdates?

Everyone around here is always scheduling "playdates" for their children, it seems. This can be a rather complicated affair, given how full kids' dance cards tend to be between ballet lessons, soccer practice and GRE study sessions. The other night, I mentioned the term to Hal and got his little half-smile:

"Back when I was a kid, a playdate was when my parents went out to socialize and there happened to be another kid around. If s/he was around my age we'd figure out some way to occupy ourselves. I don't think that we'd have ever had the time for playdates as they are structured today, as we were too busy riding our bikes around or playing with the neighbors."

Same here. I guess we must have had very, very selfish parents as I don't ever remember going to these sorts of no-occasion birthday parties. Heck, I don't think we got ferried around much at all, come to think of it. Generally, my brother and I would get kicked out of the house, returning only for lunch, paper route (yes, we worked for a living, too!) and to get started on dinner. Since mom was pretty busy with work or taking care of household business, I don't know that she had enough time for herself, much less micromanaging our lives. I wonder if I'm damaged because of this. Should I feel resentful?