First friendships

She ran up behind Caden all smiles. He hadn't spotted her yet but the look on her face alone tripped my heart.

We were at the gym and I was dropping Caden off in the babysitting room. He goes infrequently because of all his other commitments (his schedule is busier than mine!) but today he had no school, no therapy, no doctor visits. He absolutely loves to play with other children so that was my motivation to go work out while he played with his "friends", his sign for the other kids there.

He was excited to go and was yelling "Yay!" in the parking lot. A typical preschool classmate of Caden's noticed us entering and rushed over. His back was to her as she beamed with delight.

"Caden, look who's here," I said and finally he turned. He recognized her immediately. It was so clear how happy they were to see each other as they stood closely, practically nose to nose, waving, saying hi and sharing smiles.

The little girl's mother approached, saying "She talks about Caden all the time at home. She loves him! Too bad we are leaving." Our kids said their goodbyes and Caden recovered quickly, running across the room into a playhouse. I was ready to burst. It fills me with such joy and hope to watch my son interact with his peers and know he is accepted. I worry about when/if that will change. But for now, I soak up the purity and beauty of these early friendships. He is just one of the gang at this age and I couldn't be more proud.