Schultz Party of Four

Carolyn helped me to prepare dinner tonight

for our great friends and their four kiddos.

She broke the eggs and poured the breadcrumbs

for all the steps in chicken frying,

(I did not let her near the hot oil, don't worry)

She is an amazing help in the kitchen,

and so eager to learn!

Here is the blurry image I was able to grab quickly
as the kids ate, then ran, then ate some more.
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The thing I love about my friends with kids is that kids make life very raw. You cannot be stuck-up and think you are better than someone when your kid just threw a horrendous fit in front of them, or dumped juice down her shirt...or yours. Kids bring you to your knees in a lot of ways, but when you can share that understanding with a friend, it is such a bonding moment. Friends without kids have a look in their eye of either panic [why is she letting her do that/eat that/say that!?!] or annoyance [shut that kid up already] or one that I know I had at one point, too [I will do that SO MUCH better and/or I will NEVER do that!]. And I will warn you - as soon as you think you would never do that, or you would do it better - you'll find yourself in a similar situation thinking that you might have been a little hard on so-and-so.