My daughter, Little Miss Social Butterfly, had asked me to arrange a play date with her friend M for this afternoon, after school. When I picked up the children, both she and her friend were grinning ear to ear and making all sorts of plans for their time together at our house.
As we got closer to our street, the boy started to fret and asked me to take him to his house. Though he could not be specific about his discomfort, he clearly wanted to abort this play date, which then caused Raphaela to crumple on the side walk and cry in the face of a perceived rejection.
I assured M that I would respect whatever he was feeling, and after dropping him off, Raphaela was inconsolable. I explained to her that both children and grown ups sometimes get into a situation where they get afraid and plans change; that M is still her good friend and that he does not think any less of her or their friendship; that her sense of frustration and disappointment is totally normal; and that M can come another day, when he is feeling less anxious.
We then spent a better part of the afternoon on a special project, transforming a large empty IKEA box into an airplane, whereupon we 'flew' to the United States to visit my brother and his family. I can only assume that Raphaela and I had more leg room in our airplane (Air Susie) than we will in reality when we fly to the United States this summer for my youngest brother's wedding.
1 comment:
You made the best from a difficult situation.
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