Friendship

My daughter constantly talks about one of her school friends. She sat at a table with her early in the year, and their friendship was cemented through an exchange of coloring sheets and other small gifts. However, she has yet to meet this friend outside school. Consequently, we have never met her either.

Yesterday, my daughter wanted my wife and me to attend her school’s Festival of Trees event. Not only would there be hot chocolate and s’mores, but her friend would also be there. My daughter can have a fit at the drop of a hat, so we told her we had no way of coordinating our visit with the friend’s parents. If we saw her, great. If we didn’t see her, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Within five minutes of our arrival, the two found each other. They hugged it out and jumped up and down for three minutes. My wife and I introduced ourselves to the young girl’s father. Unprompted, he shared that his daughter talked about our daughter all the time. I got to see my daughter spend thirty minutes with her friend. They made jokes, sang Christmas songs, sipped hot cocoa, and enjoyed each other’s company while my wife and I talked with the friend’s father.

As we went home, I realized that this was the first time I had seen my daughter play with a friend outside of school. Her daycare was fifty minutes from our house, so she never got together with friends outside school hours. I loved seeing her share time with a friend. It was clear their affection was reciprocal. The friend’s dad was pleasant.

I look forward to seeing my daughter make more friends.