Wanna play

Yesterday, on the way home, the girls saw two of their friends outside riding bikes. They're lucky in the fact that they have several kids around the same age living within a few doors of each other. it's nice that they can just go next door or across the street and play with their friends. I feel so bad that my kids don't have that. Of my neighbors, most don't have kids. The ones that do are either way too young or way too old for my kids to play with. So, it's not like they can just go outside and play with their friends. They don't have a Maureen or a Lisa or a Janice or a Nikki or a Cynthia or a Danny or a Vicky or a George or a Debbie like I did growing up. They don't "call for" anyone, ring a bell or yell up to a window to see if someone can come out and play. It makes me sad that the world isn't like it used to be. Maybe I'm neurotic, but I won't even send my kids out to play without watching them. They can't cross the street by themselves either. When I was their age, that's all we did was play in the street. So, now I have to schedule playdates and try to squeeze in playtime between dance and gymnastics and scouts and religious instruction and cheerleading and whatever else everyone is signed up for. I wonder what life will be like when their kids are this age. Maybe they'll all live in bubbles and communicate via smart phone!