a rugs life

My 5-year-old daughter Rada had a playdate with her new best friend Ryan yesterday. Ryan is slightly younger, gracious enough to be bossed around, and he has a serious train collection which includes Trevor, Toby, James, several Thomases, and a Skarloey.

When the invitable moment of departure came, Rada protested bitterly: “I don’t want to go.”

I said, “If you go, maybe Ryan will invite you for another playdate and you can come back again.”

“But I don’t want to come back”, she said.

“You don’t want to go, and you don’t want to come back. What do you want?” I asked.

“I want to stay here all the time”, she said.