So, my friend's mum called this morning and said she was coming to the park with the kids and wanted to know if I wanted to come. I did.

So, after various fun and games with my young friend and his little brother, their mother asked me a bunch of questions about myself, basically to get to know me a little, I suppose. Career paths, current occupation, etc. I definitely got the feeling that she was making sure she was okay with me being an influence to her son. Which is cool; I answered honestly and my answers were respectable enough.

A little later on, the kids expressed interest in playing on the playground, so they went over while mum decided to give me a good talking to.

Basically, she said something like "It's great that you're being a friend to my son, but the fact is I just don't know you very well, and I hate being the baddy saying that Jake can't visit without me, and it's not a good idea to get his hopes up about visits back and forth because it's just not going to happen until I've gotten to know you better. So, I think you should also have a talk with him about this matter".

I think I expressed my understanding and compliance very clearly, because I do understand and I do comply with the wishes of a mother. They're protective, and for good reason. Even though I know I'm perfectly trustworthy, she doesn't know that yet and I respect that.

So, as I went to play on the playground with the boys, I pulled my friend aside and told him that his mother loved him very much and that she worried about never seeing him again, so she didn't really want to leave him with me by ourselves. He protested by comparing me to the various images he had received during his young life about pedophiles and "bad people", and I wasn't sure how to respond so I just reiterated that mothers worry a lot, and they don't only worry about one kind of person. It's a little difficult to explain to someone so young, but I think I got the intended message across:

"Don't keep asking your mother whether you can come over to my house, or whether I can come over to your house, because she doesn't know me very well."

~ I think that was the extent of her feelings about our relationship. ~

I'm pretty sure she actually liked me at least a little. I was very good with the kids, and took no "liberties" with my behavior with the kids.

On our parting, she did mention quite clearly that she would consider ringing me when they had some more free time; she could have just said "Thanks for visiting, see you later".

I'm not too disappointed. I'll be seeing him every weekday after the holidays are done. In any case, the dad seems more laid back, but I don't know how often I'd see him, since he seems to sleep in the day and work "the night shift" somewhere.

Regards,

THP