Awkward?

I would imagine we have all been there as parents...you are at the park, your kid starts playing with another kid and you strike up a conversation with the parent. Two hours later, you and your new mommy buddy are laughing and having a great time while your kids play together beautifully. Then it happens. One of you has to leave, and there is that moment. The "wow I had a really great time on our first date" moment. The "I'm not sure if I should give you my number so we can have a playdate" moment. So you both just stand there and go through as many goodbyes as you can before one of you has to break away and throw in the towel. Driving home, you wonder if you made the right decision...

The only thing MORE awkward than this is when the parent is a dad.

I had this happen yesterday. At the beach, kids playing together and having such a great time, Dad and I talking about hybrid cars and minivans..."wow, you live right in our neighborhood!"..."Oh, your wife sounds great!" Blah, blah, blah...then it was time for him to head out for his youngest to take her nap.

We stood there.

"Well..."
"So nice to meet you..."
"Yeah..."

Then he left. Awkward.

I have decided that we should create a code word for other parents so that everyone can know that it's ok to ask the other parent for a playdate, but if one isn't interested, they can just ignore the signal and leave. Hmmmm...it would have to be something subtle, but obvious enough that we would get it. "I really like Cracker Jacks," or "wasn't the Electric Company a great show?"

I'll work on this one, I think it's worthy...let's save ourselves from this.