Lara, Vlad, Katya and Mischa came over for dinner as planned on Thursday night. The grown-ups chatted easily and the kids played together like long-lost cousins. By the end of the evening I was imagining shuffling through the back yard to their apartment in my slippers with a big mug of tea, mi casa es su casa, I'll pick up your mail if you feed my cat, come stay at our dacha, best friends 4 eva!
But both Lara, the mom, and Katya, the nine-year-old, complained about the other nine-year-old neighbor always knocking on their door asking if Katya wanted to play. I think there's some kind of cultural difference going on. Or maybe they just don't like that other family. I don't know. I just know I can't call them for a week or so, so they don't think I'm stalking them. Though Lara did leave me a message asking where we'd picked raspberries, because Vlad thought it sounded like fun.
Cross your fingers for me, I might have an actual neighbor!
Good luck - I hope the cultural differences work themselves out! I never knew until my kids were old enough to play with other kids how difficult it would be to find good neighbors. I would LOVE to have someone around me that would have me over for coffee in my pajamas while the kids run around outside!
Posted by: Michele | August 30, 2006 at 08:17 AM