1 Mother 2 Another

I have a standing Wednesday morning pool
play date with a group of neighborhood church friends; last
Wednesday I took Maddie while Cora was in ballet camp, and
yesterday I told Cora I’d take her while Maddie studied Swan
Lake. “Shall we have some just-Mommy-and-Cora time?” I
asked Cora, hoping she wouldn’t miss Maddie at the pool too
much. Cora nodded happily, and we packed up our gear and headed
out, me looking forward to seeing my friends and having a chance to
re-connect.


Cora and I got there early and spent a good half-hour in the pool
all by ourselves. We swam and laughed and giggled and had splashing
contests, having a fantastic time in our own private pool. As our
friends started showing up the pool began to fill, and within
twenty minutes Cora was surrounded by almost a dozen of her church
friends.

I had some girlfriends of my own around
me, and happily got down to the task of catching up on summer
happenings. I chatted with a friend for quite a bit while Cora swam
back and forth between me and the steps; gradually a couple other
friends of mine came nearby and we were all talking happily, one
eye on our children, when I noticed Cora had stopped swimming and
was simply sitting on the steps. I swam over.


“You ok, baby?” I asked her.


Cora looked at me. “Mommy, I’m ready to go home.”


I stared at my water bug, astonished. “You’re ready to
go home NOW? What’s going on?”


Cora struggled. “It’s just getting too crowded
here.”


I looked at her in sympathy. “You mean there are too many
kids around you?”


“No,” Cora said in frustration, “There are too
many mommies around YOU! I wanted Mommy and Cora time!”


What could I say to that?


We went home, dried off, and snuggled on the couch reading books
together. And I ended up having time to re-connect after all.