I do it not because I think Harry would struggle, but because I hate it.  I hate that the mom hangs around, waiting for me to entertain her.  It's always the mom, never the dad (which would require DH to do the entertaining), and I end up sitting there staring awkwardly at someone with whom I have no connection beyond the fact that we both had sex and gave birth on about the same schedule.  My sense of humor tends to be a bit snarky- with a healthy does of pop culture references- which typically leads to other moms looking at me politely but blankly, with these "holy crap, get me out of here and away from this crazy lady" expressions.  (I apparently missed the Stepford shot when I gave birth.)  

But I love my kid, so today I'm going to gut my way through the misery and awkwardness and my own exhaustion for two hours.

So how do other people endure it?  I have acquaintances that do this all the time.  They live for playdates.  And I have friends with whom I hang, who have kids the same age, and who I don't dread time with- so I guess that means it's only new people I dread.  But "old" people start out as "new" people, right?  So why can't I just look at this as a wonderful opportunity to connect with someone new?

7 minutes until Playdate Hell begins.  If I don't post in 24 hours, assume that the mom either ran screaming from the house, clutching her progeny to her bosom and speed dialing CPS as she laid down rubber in my driveway and that I'm currently under lockdown in some facility awaiting a psych evaluation.