When Do You Call Someone Friend?

My daughter has made a new friend at school. His name is Patrick. I've also made a new friend - Patrick's mom.

It's almost inevitable, once your kids start going to school, that you'll become friendly with some of the moms you see in the morning. Patrick's mom has even invited us to the park for a playdate. She's super nice and always offers to watch the girls if I'm ever in a jam.

While the idea totally rocks, I find myself reluctant to say yes. Not because I am worried about leaving my daughters with her. I feel guilty. Trust me, I would love the break every now and then. She offered to pick big J up from school so that I don't have to bundle the baby up for a 5 minute ride in the car once the weather gets cold. How nice is that?

Still, I always think that people say those things just to be nice. And then I would feel bad if my kids were bad, ya know. I haven't posted about it yet, but I had a babysitter for a while and she dumped us. I'm convinced it was because the baby was too hard for her too handle. She's the best baby in the world, but she doesn't sleep well away from home and I had to bring her there during nap time. Anyway, I'll have to think about it.

Here's my quesion though - at what point do you call someone a friend? I always refer to Melissa as "Patrick's mom," or "one of the moms from J's school." We meet for playdates, we've exchanged phone numbers, but I don't refer to her as my friend. Maybe as time goes by, it'll feel more like a friendship. What do you think?