In a Bit of a Dilemna

Larry and I are in a bit of a pickle over a new couple we met at the soccer fields. They are relatively new in town, from Ohio, have two boys about our boys' ages and we thought, at first, it would be a good fit and some new friends to bring into our mix. Without going into the whole back story, we invited them over for New Years Eve with a couple of other couples and apparently throughout the night, this new couple made some questionable comments regarding race, which escalated when the wife flat-out offended my friend's husband, who is mixed.

Oh my. To be honest, we had all been drinking and you would think being somewhat responsible adults, we would be beyond this, but we weren't and things were heated after the comment was made and the night ended on a very sour note.

Larry and I were able to patch things up with our friends and since we have to see this new couple at the soccer fields 3 times a week, we tried to chalk the incident up to the alcohol and ignorance.

There's so much to the story to add, but to keep things brief, we have had lunch with them a couple times since New Year's and after they asked what we were doing for the Super Bowl, we invited them over. Larry and I were trying to make an honest effort to befriend these people as I know how hard it is to move to S. Florida and be on your own.

The thing is, the more I am around them and the more I see how they respond to their boys (who make my two look like angels), the less I want to maintain this "friendship."

Sunday, our pastor preached on King David and his mighty men (II Samuel 23) and the point was "who are the mighty men in your life?" Do you have any? I know I do, but I also know that I am very susceptible to outside influences. And while I will not be mean to these people, I just don't think I can be friends with them. I need strong people to help me navigate the muddy waters of South Florida. My sons need polite children to play with, especially Peyton, who feeds off of other kids so much.

Seriously, and I almost hate writing this, but just to give an example, Larry asked their son, who is 7, along with our boys to clean something up, and the kid whined at him and pouted. I know my boys and I know how they may act around me, but I guarantee you, they would NEVER act that way at another person's house (grandparents excluded).

So, here we are with a month of soccer left and us not really sure how to handle the situation. I guess we will be polite, but conveniently have errands to run every weekend. Ugh, Larry and I are so good at getting ourselves into these awkward situations.