M is having her first sleepover next month on her ninth birthday. She is so excited that she can barely contain herself. I, however, am dreading it. Being responsible for eight giggly girls is not my idea of fun, especially since large groups tend to overwhelm me. Still, I can't deprive her of this. As a homeschooling parent, it is my job to encourage the friendships that M develops and create events where she can spend time with other kids since she isn't seeing them in school. So I have to go into "good mommy" mode and pretend that playing Payday with pre-teens was exactly what I wanted to do on a Saturday night.