Zac and I had a play date the other day with a small group of his friends from school and their moms. I too have become friends with these women and enjoy them all so much. That night I lay awake "solving the problems of the world" as my mom would say. It was then that it occurred to me how rich, unique, and special these relationships are. We all have the obvious in common: our kids, their siblings, school, soccer, etc. We talk about our husbands, clothes, and the T.V. shows we watch. The usual girlie chit chat. But what's even more obvious that I never quite realized before is how different we are. The host is Peruvian and speaks Spanish. Another is Chinese, speaks Mandarin, and was raised in New Zealand. My closest friend of the group is Hawaiian and married to a Japanese man. Then the other woman is middle eastern who speaks Arabic. Then there's me! (Wow I need to learn another language.) I have gotten to know these women over a 2 year period and not once have I thought about how amazingly cool this mosaic is.
Now I have made other connections with moms and dads at Zac's school that will always remain what I call "surface" friendships. On the 4th of July I had this conversation with a fellow school mom during Claremont's Memorial Park celebration. After small talk about how our summer has been going I asked if they were going to the 4th of July parade?
Mom: No. It just keeps getting weirder and weirder every year.
Me: (Head tilted with a quizzical look.) Really? (Knowing what was coming but hoping to not hear it.)
Mom: Yeah. Those liberals you know, they just...(eyes rolling and a giggle).
Me: (A smart ass giggle) Yeah. Those liberals!
Surface relationship sealed!
Now those of you who know me well are thinking, "Maria! Just because she isn't a liberal doesn't mean you can't be friends." And I agree. (Although admittedly I really like a good progressive. ;)) It's just that it was assumed that I would jump on board with her bigoted comment. We may look alike, but that doesn't mean we think alike!
2 comments:
Maria, this blog is as good as any sermon I ever preached!
Love, Dad
How perceptive! You so beautifully laid out the different dimensions of relationships and the possibilities - both limitless and limited - that exist in each one.
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