I'm grateful I've gotten to meet so many of the people in the box. Now if most of them could stop living across the country from me, I'd be all set.

I think part of my problem is I remember growing in the suburbs, in the 70s. Neighborhood schools, most moms home -- we all ran wild after school and in the summer, within this well-defined neighborhood where none of us had to cross a major, busy street. So our parents *knew* each other if they didn't socialize. And now, getting kids together for *play dates* (which is still such an alien concept to me) is a huge production.

Hosting an activity *before* they let you join is just crazy talk.