Kids and friends

This weekend I took M to his first birthday party at an indoor amusement park. He was so excited. The family had rented out the venue so it was a kid's dream- no lines, just hop onto whatever ride you like. When we arrived, his classmates were already enjoying the rides. They waved and called out "hola, M!", which was nice to see. The timing with his friends was off, so he then proceeded to ride on a series of rides all by himself. I watched his classmates hold hands and run to the next ride together, while he was all alone.

My heart was breaking a little bit as I watched him. But then I realized he was doing just fine. He kept looking over at me and grinning from ear to ear.  When he finally did join them, they welcomed him into their buggy or parachute and I saw him laugh a little louder and smile a little wider. But he was happy alone, too. I think at that moment I realized that he's pretty comfortable in his own skin right now. It's probably a good thing that he wasn't desperately running after his friends, begging them to play with him.

His dad and I have been worrying about his making friends at school. His teachers assure us that the other kids like him, and I could tell that they do. There's just not much communication going on right now.  He doesn't seem too troubled by it, honestly. He is mostly happy to go to school and happy to come home. I have to believe that as time passes, his bonds with his classmates will grow, especially as his language improves.

And a note about his teachers. What loving, caring women they are. They spent 3 hours at a kid's birthday party on a Saturday and seemed genuinely delighted to see everyone. I think we hit the teacher jackpot and I am really grateful for all of them.