All 3 kids have spend the last few days with friends somewhere. It must be the nice weather. K has been hanging out with school friends, going on sleepovers, and playing football in the street with a bunch of kids. I used to love doing that stuff. J has also been out every day at friends' houses and last night was invited to a 6th-8th grade dance at a nearby school. She had a lot of fun and was so cool about it. What I love about J is that there's never any pretension. Nothing is fake about her. What you see is what you get. She has so many really deep, long-term friendships and feels no need to try and impress anyone for approval (unlike what I see in most middle school cliques). 7 of her best friends were with her lastnight (3 boys, 4 girls - ages 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, 13, and 13), all of whom would do anything for her and vice versa. She has way too many activities and things to focus on to start thinking about boys "like that". I envy that kind of self image and confidence.

W's been at the playground every day, meeting new kids, riding his scooter, and playing basketball. He make friends very easily. Yesterday I watched as he ended up with 3 other boys for a basketball game. I see him get patted on the back and do that fist-bump-that-turns-into-a-cool-handshake thing with the new kids and wonder how he knows that. He could get a game of cops and robbers going in no time and spend hours there. He shares his things and knows how to not get taken advantage of. He's big for his age and doesn't get messed with - and he knows it. But he'll always make time to run over to me for a hug and kiss.

I love springtime.