By Kay Krhin

His name is Mark.

He's very spontaneous, enthusiastic and he always has great snacks.

Really. what more can a gal ask for? He'll often call me early on a Saturday morning when he knows my husband is at work. "Where shall we go today Kay!?" he asks with gusto. Peter knows that we go out and he's totally fine with it. In fact, he coined the term. "Oh are you going to the park with your weekend boyfriend?" You see, it's truly a relationship of convenience. Mark is Peter's old high school buddy and his wife often uses Saturday's to catch up on her freelance writing. She's working, Peter's working – what else are we supposed to do? They have a boy and a girl that are about the same age as ours, so we both have two under four. It's difficult to manage two kids that age on outings alone. The term "herding cats" comes to mind. Really fast cats. But you see, there is safety in numbers. Mark and I will often meet up at a park like Edinborough or Chutes and Ladders and divide and conquer. He'll chase the boys up in the towering gerbil maze of nets and slides and I'll hang with the girls in the toddler area. It would be next to impossible to handle that on my own and it's a win/win for all involved. We never get to have an actual uninterrupted conversation, but we always have a good time. Most important, he's often motivated me to gather up the kids and get the heck out of the house. Plus, like I said, he always brings good snacks. A weekend boyfriend. I highly recommend one.
________________________________________________ It's so crucial to reach out and GET OUT when you're a new parent. It's simple to get stuck in a routine and often easier to just stay home. Mark, has inspired me to be spontaneous and reach out to other friends too. (especially my single parent friends and those who have spouses who work opposite schedules.) Sometimes you have to team up to go out to play. Go ahead, pick up the phone!