The Joys of Giggles and Gossip

I’ll be honest.  I’m terrible at hosting sleepovers for my daughter.  “We’ll get them together next weekend.  Wait, she’s at her dad’s next weekend, how about the weekend after?”  Scheduling it is the hardest part. Then: who picks them up, who drops them off, should I clean the house first even though I know it’ll be destroyed 12 hours later?  When is the last time I went to the grocery store?  Crap, gotta pick up snacks.  I know, I know, over thinking at it’s best.  I’m an introvert, so it doesn’t bother me to be alone for long periods of time.  But my daughter is the opposite.  You can see my dilemma. 

I am trying to do better.  My daughter is 9.  Socialization beyond the 4 walls of her school is important.  And to be honest, I prefer being the host because I get to see my daughter in a whole new light.  Extroverts energize around people.  I get to witness this first hand.

Only children have a tendency to be far more mature for their age.  I see this a lot in my daughter.  But when we host a sleepover I get to see her revert to just being a kid again.  Last night they dressed up her American Girl Dolls to go to prom, created beautiful pictures with her thousands of gel art pens, built an enormous fort using every single pillow and blanket I own (Including the one on my bed, it was a little chilly last night).  They found the Halloween make-up and turned themselves into zombies.

I sit in my room and just listen.  Intervene when needed, which isn’t often because they get along so well.  And I smile.  I overhear the gossip.  They talk about cute boys, they talk about their families, they talk about things going on at school, they compliment each others work, they tease each other endlessly, they encourage eachother when there’s frustration, they argue and then make up.  I learn a lot about my daughter that I would never know if I didn’t seize the opportunity to just open my home to her friends. 

This morning it looks like a tornado tore through my home.  The girls are sitting around the table eating pancakes and all I hear is Giggles and Gossip.  I think I’ll wait til tomorrow to worry about the mess.

Sincerely,

One Flawsome Momma