National Night Out

Last night was National Night Out. It's a good time to get together with neighbors who you may not see on a regular basis. Last year we didn't have a party, but this year we were back on with a small get together on our block. We had the regular block party food...lots of snacks and some grilled fare. There were people from 7 different houses, I think.

The highlight of the night was when a police officer stopped by with his squad car. He let each of the four kids sit in the seat and try out the horn and lights on the car. He also let them talk over the loudspeaker. Then he opened the back door and they got to sit in the back. This was fun for them and funny for us! Part of this was because our kids don't know what being in the back of the squad car means. Perhaps we have sheltered our kids too much, but they don't know the bad part of a cop's job. Meaning that the back seat of the car didn't mean anything to them. C even asked what the bars separating the back seat and the front seat were for. When it was finally discovered what that was for, A freaked out by saying, "No!! Don't take them away!!" as someone had shut the door on C and his friend, Owen. We all had a good laugh about that. Clearly we need to expose our children to the "real" things that happen with police officers and their job!

We had a great night and are thankful we live on a great, multi-generational block with lovely neighbors!