But I'm Old Enough

There comes a time in every parent's life, when the kids want more freedom. That's been happening more frequently with Gus lately.  He keeps reminding me he's old enough to do things on his own. He wants to spread his wings, explore.

He's made a new friend, who lives in the condos around the corner from our house. Gus met him through another friend, whose little brother is Niko's best friend.  The kid came over yesterday - nice young man, well mannered, polite.

Then Gus asked the question, "Can we go over to Jake's house?" My initial response in my head was, "Are you crazy? That's four houses away - and we don't know his parents." But if I had said that, what was I saying about the kid's parents, who didn't know me from Adam, but allowed their kid to come to my house? At least in theory they had allowed him to come over.

I looked at Gus:

But I saw:

I thought about it for maybe 10 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to both us of - he pleading with his eyes, I trying not to freak out. In the end I acquiesced and let him go over for about 30 minutes. Thankfully, the boys returned before the deadline, and finished playing at our place.

When it was time for Jake to go home, I mortified Gus by insisting on walking him home - not for the reason Gus imagined - but in order to introduce myself to the kid's parents...and for me to meet them.

The older he gets, the more independent he's becoming. That's good on many levels. It also keeps me up at night.