Boomerang by JoJo Siwa

I love living in Martinez for many reasons and one of the big ones is the strong sense of community. I have heard from several people who rave about their neighborhood, where the kids all run around together, in and out of each other's houses.  I live in one them and it is exactly how I hoped it would be for raising my kids.  Mind you, it's not exactly like a scene in a movie from the 50s or how it was when I grew up in the 80s.  For example, nowadays showing up unannounced at someone's house is pretty frowned upon.  We also don't just send the kids outside and say, "come back at dinner!".  We literally stand on the sidewalk and tell the kids when it's safe to cross the street and then watch until they are safely inside the neighbor's house. The end result is the same:  It takes a village and I have developed a pretty nice village here. 

My daughter's BFF conveniently lives right across the street.  When her family bought their house, her grandpa came over to see it, pointed to MY house and said that he used to hang out there all the time.  Of course he is talking about my dad and uncle, since I live in the house where my dad grew up. Isn't that fun?!   Her BFF's parents are great - down to earth, easy going, fun people and all around great neighbors.  They just texted me the other night to tell me my car door had been left open.  Tami, her mom, and I relate I think because we both have strong willed children.  This makes our daughter's friendship so perfect - I can count on Tami to say:  "send her over!" just when I'm at my wits' end.  I hope she feels the same away about me. 

In spite of the shelter in place, Lila and her BFF have been conducting very elaborate video play dates.  They discuss all of the latest trends, music, clothing, shows.  They get into very sophisticated, imaginative games and it's pretty fun to listen to them. What I do not enjoy so very much is their obsession with JoJo Siwa.  I suppose I owe my mom an apology for the constant playing of the New Kids on the Block. I've consoled myself because now when I hear the music of JoJo, I associate it with my awesome neighbor Tami who gave us Lila's BFF.  I think the girls are actually playing more now with video and of course Lila's older brother isn't able to bother them quite so easily.  Tami and I have joked that while he is Diarrhea Dexter now, he is going to become Dreamy Dexter in a couple years and then we're all in trouble!