Making Friends

This is my conversation with my kindergartner a couple of nights ago.

“I saw Timmy today.”, she whispered

“Oh… where?”, I replied

“In the cafeteria.”

“Is he in your class?”

“No… he’s older. Not little like me. He’s in 3rd grade.”, she said.

“Oh?”

“He sat next to me in the bus.”

“When? Today?”

“I don’t know” …pause… “He makes me laugh”, and she erupted into giggles.

“I saw him in the cafeteria today. He did this…” – she smiled the tiniest of smiles. I almost missed it. “And I did this…”- she again smiled the tiniest of smiles.

Throughout her conversation I was trying to follow what happened and then slowly it started to make sense. Near as I can figure, she met a boy on the bus and then recognized him in the cafeteria amongst all the other kids. He recognized her too. He smiled in acknowledgement, and she smiled in acknowledgement back.

Isn’t that amazing? She’s making friends all on her own. I don’t know about you but it’s hard for me to watch my kids make friends. I have to fight the urge to “manage” her relationships at such a young age. Say hello. Be polite. Don’t be rude. Every time I even begin to worry or start to say something, I am reminded that she’s okay and somehow it all worked out.

Sheila Cason, MD