Making friends

Ivan had a serious conversation with Andy over the weekend.

As they were walking through the park, with Mariposa in tow, Ivan asked about some people who were in the park. Andy said he didn’t know them. Ivan asked how do you go about meeting some body.

“Well, you have to go and introduce yourself. You say ‘Hi, I’m Ivan. What’s your name?’” Andy replied.

Ivan was really interested and intently listening, Andy said. Being an introverted child who’s just started a new preschool where he doesn’t know anyone, Ivan seems to be really attuned to this issue of how does one make friends and get to know people. We’ve both noticed this. Maybe children who are more extroverted just go and play with kids they don’t know, like Bella(s) or Seger, for example, while the more introverted ones reflect on this before they go and play. Who knows? This is one of those instances when I ask Ivan a straight question, I never get an answer. But this is definitely on his mind.

Tonight, when we talked about going to preschool tomorrow, Ivan said he would take a toy with him—at the beginning of the week at daycare, they’d take something for show-and-tell, a practice they don’t have at preschool, so maybe he was referring to that.

A little car with wheels, “so everyone will play with me, all boys and girls,” he said as he rolled over to sleep.

And earlier today, while Ivan and Andy were hanging out on the porch, our new neighbors across the street, whom we haven’t met yet, pulled up to the house. The young California blond got out of her red jeep. Ivan asked Andy if he knew her. Andy said no.

“Hey, what’s your name,” Ivan yelled out, trying to put Andy’s lesson into action.