I'm sitting in Pretoria, South Africa at a coffee shop with a cappuccino in front of me blogging - about Tana, and about the Midgley boys in particular. My good friends Kim and Sue and their five boys recently moved to a new home, mostly so that their boys, who are homeschooled, would have more friends to play with.
And now their home is like a train station, with the "Dutch boys", who live five houses down from them coming in and going out as if they're part of family. At any given time one can find 3 Midgley boys and two Dutch kids at the Midgley home, with the remaining Dutch boy and two youngest Midgleys at the Dutch family's home. (And, in fact, in any combination one can think of...)
I was amused to hear Sue asking her 4-year-old at supper recently if he had eaten during the day... She hadn't seen him for the whole afternoon, and just assumed that he would have snacked at his friends' house... And the two families have a good understanding that when it's time for the children to go home then a simple command will restore the balance.
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| A lounge filled with boys. One Midgley, one de Waal, one Midgley, one de Waal... Best of friends. |
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| The three eldest Midgley boys. No, hold on, that's two Midgleys on the left and a de Waal on the right. |
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| The eldest de Waal boy in the Midgley lounge with some funky glasses left over from the World Cup in South Africa |
So neat to have a family of friends so close. There are lots of kids in our neighborhood but not families that I feel comfortable letting my kids roam free with. I may be just a tad over protective though...they can hold it against me later!
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