Friends

C is the younger brother of one of Will’s buddies. Their mom (S) and I had coffee on our boys’ first day of preschool and we have been dear friends ever since. She is a fun-loving and accepting friend. She is someone I could trust and with whom I could be myself. It is always relaxed when we are together and most crucially, for my point here, our friendship is completely and totally drama-free.

So much of our focus goes to our kids! There are dramatic, stressful and patience-draining moments that fill our days. We need adult relationships that help relieve stress, not ones that add drama, stress and tears. This seems so obvious when I write it, but I cannot tell you the number of hours I have spent trying to make grown-up relationships work when they were not bringing me joy.

My friend S is a great example of a friend that sparks joy (Marie Kondo would approve) and therefore, she’s a keeper!

A Side Note:

I promise the entire journal will not be about our backyard pool.  If you are put off by this…stick with me. 99% of the things I recommend are free or very inexpensive. In fact, before we had the pool in the backyard, we practiced swimming at our YMCA and a local park with a beach. That said, we have a backyard pool because swimming was such a big part of both of our kids’ lives.  They love it and it has been the center of many wonderful gatherings with family and friends. The big take-away is to focus on the parts of our story that are meaningful for your family and make use of anything that makes your days go more smoothly.

Big Ideas:

• Choose friends wisely. Lots of things in life will take hard work. Your friendships need to be a bit easier during these tough times. No big proclamations are needed. Just step back from more challenging relationships and prioritize spending time with the people who get it.
• When your child struggles socially, lean on family support. In this case, Michael’s big brother introduced him to a new friend. In your family, it might be a holiday with cousins, a next door neighbor, a kid who rides the same bus. Use any opportunity to practice social skills and facilitate friendships.

Oh, And Also…

If your child enjoys drawing, having them draw something fun from their day can help them to process the parts of that experience that were important to them. Drawing is a great way for kids to communicate!