I recently had a short conversation with a friend of mine and we were talking about the weekend and she mentioned that Friday's are for her and her hubby and Saturday's are for their kids... time with them. So sweet. It made me smile to think of how important not only keeping our marriage strong but how important it is to keep our kids strong so that they can grow up to have great and lasting relationships.
I want that.
I just have to settle for the fact that our children's relationships are, most likely, going to be something different. They will be those of lasting friendships. I'm so excited for that.
I think that Sister is great at having and loving and wanting her friends. It has been so much fun watching her really have best friends and interacting with them and really playing with them.
Baby... I'm not sure about her yet. She is seeking out sensory input so often that I think "friends" aren't exactly fitting her bill right now. She has more fun with the grown-ups who can swing her, wrestle her and, lately, have a good pillow fight.
But, Brother... well, he's a tough one. Not because he doesn't want friends. He LOVES having friends. He treasures his friends. His friends would never know that though unless they have really given him a lot of time to be comfortable. Poor guy, he is so full of anxiety that he can hardly handle being approached by someone who wants to sit by him at church or school or even respond to their "hellos." I mean, you saw the picture I shared in the last post from his birthday party, right...
Poor guy.
How many 14-year-olds hide under a blanket for his entire birthday party, fall apart as people are giving him presents and then 30 minutes after the party is over run to their mother and exclaim, "That was so much fun mom!" and then go about the house holding to his gifts like they were jewels.
It's hard to become Brother's friend. He doesn't make it easy. Funny thing is though, I have realized through some experiences recently that to him, any one who talks to him, ever, is his friend. He LOVES his friends and he does have many.
I'm learning just how much I appreciate the youth here in our area for continuing to make an effort to get to know Brother even though he hides under his blanket, jacket or table (whatever's more convenient).
For Brother, it's like he has a bit of a wall up until he completely trusts you, knows you aren't just here for a service project and then he lets his guard down and you become his best friend.
Be prepared though, because once you're his friend he has a really hard time letting go. He is a very loyal friend.
I hope that some of you who know Brother, or anyone like him, know how loved and appreciated you are for your efforts in trying to befriend someone who takes a bit of extra effort and time.
I hope that one day all my kids will have friends that they can trust and that I can trust who they can just hang out with so that I actually have the opportunity to complain about having to run my kids to their friends houses for one reason or another. Then I can set aside my Saturdays for my kids and their friends' activities.
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