Friendships

Today the girls and I went to visit my high school friend, Margaret. Amy and Beth love playing with her 4-year-old daughter, and Erin is just starting to notice and enjoy her 1-year-old son's company. They all had a wonderful time playing dress-up, sharing lunch together, and riding bikes outside. Amy actually managed to make it through the entire play-date without a meltdown, which is very rare for her. But when the time came to say good-bye, Amy's tears began to flow.

"I don't want to go!" she cried. And cried. And cried. All the way to the car, she sobbed and begged to stay for a bit longer. She continued to cry for the first couple of minutes in the car, and then she slowly stopped.

After a bit, she piped up from the back seat.

"Mommy, what did you do with your tears?", she asked.

I asked her what she meant by this question, and she elaborated.

"I know you must have been really, really sad to say good-bye to your friend. But you didn't even cry. Did you just swallow the tears all up, or are you just going to wait, and cry tonight?"

An interesting question, don't you think? In a way, it makes me understand her tears just a little bit better. Of course I enjoyed my friend's company, but an adult perspective on life helps me to understand the fact that I will see her again sometime soon. But 3-year-olds live in the moment. And for her, the "moment" was so enjoyable that she didn't want it to end.

I'm glad that she realizes how important friends really are. She made me realize just how special it is to spend time with good friends. So, Amy, I promise we'll get together with Anna again soon...very, very soon.