My husband and I recently sold our first home to accommodate our now family of five. One day when I shared our Zillow listing on Facebook, I got an unexpected message from an old friend. It was a quick message asking about the availability of the house and sharing that they moved just outside Baton Rouge last year.
A month later, I got an even more unexpected message asking us over for dinner. Keep in mind that although we grew up together in a small town and our parents stay in touch on Facebook, we hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since early high school. This invitation to dinner included meeting his wife, introducing our kids to one another, dinner, dessert, and small talk.
Basically, a blind family play date.
Just like a blind date, we were nervous to accept. What if our kids didn’t get along? What would we talk about? What if we had nothing in common? But we were also excited. What if our kids got along? What if we had fun? What if we had new couples friends?
So, we packed up the minivan and followed Google maps to our destination. As we climbed out of the minivan, we were greeted by an old friend, warm welcomes, and shy hellos from the kids. Within 30 minutes though, the kids laughed and played as the adults connected.
One such connection was that my husband’s dad grew up in the same town as my friend’s wife. Being that it was such a small town, we knew that their parents had to have known each other, and we were right. A “Mom, do you know so-and-so” text evolved into my husband FaceTiming to see if he looked like his dad or not. And yes, he did.
Since that Sunday less than two months ago, we’ve attended their daughter’s birthday party, we’ve had them over for dinner, and they will be guests at our daughter’s upcoming birthday party. We’ve exchanged phone numbers and shared really fun moments with more ahead.
