let's be friends

These days, whenever we arrive at a local park for an afternoon of play, Garrett takes a moment to scope out the kids running around before he chooses one or two to attach himself to. Then, with or without their permission, he spends the rest of our time there following his new friend(s) around. His budding social skills, however, have not yet evolved to the point where he formally introduces himself and asks their name in return (we're working on that). Yesterday, for example, he and his "new friend, Orange" (so called for the bright orange shirt he wore), had a great time watching and poking a small hill of busy ants.


This afternoon, shortly after we arrived at another park for our weekly playgroup, Garrett surveyed the flurry of loud, happy kids before finally settling on a gaggle of seven- and eight-year-old girls sitting in a circle on the ground with their Barbie dolls. Armed with a stick of sidewalk chalk, he found a bit of open space and made himself at home, engaging, as I noticed, in a few attempts at conversation. Why he chose them, I'll never know, but he spent about 20 minutes in their company, coloring with his chalk while they generally ignored him as they breathed giggly life into their Barbies. It was pretty much the funniest thing I'd watched in a long time.


This evening at dinner I asked Garrett about his new friends. "What did you say to them?" I asked.

"I say, you wanna draw?" he replied.

"And what did they say to you?"

"Go away!"