Soren has this new 'thing' now. It's so cheek pinching adorable and frightening at the same time.
This week I posted about his session. He did the 'thing' here. Soren turns to both Rick and I and says:
'I want to introduce myself, can I?'
The permission part kills me along with the look of enthusiasm on his face. We respond,
'Absolutely bubs. Go for it!'
'Hi - well. I am Soren and I am 4 years old! I have a birthday coming up. I will be 5. It's nice to meet you!'
Yep. I'm not exaggerating any of this. It's that stinking cute. So in this crowd of mixed adults and older kids - they eat it up. They introduce themselves genuinely and surround him with kindness.
The playground - completely different beast. Last night, we went to play soccer and there was a birthday party going on at the same time. Kid fest at the playground. Soren is so amped. He asks me yet again:
'Momma, I want to introduce myself. Can I ask them to play with me?'
Me:
'Of course bubs - go for it!'
Soren to a kiddo not much bigger than him:
'Hi! I'm Soren. I'm 4 years old! What's your name?'
The kiddo:
'I'm 7.'
That's it. And turns his back on Soren, NOT with kindness. Soren looks at me, you know parents - that look - like 'what did I do wrong?'. On my toes I look over at the other side of the playground and see some other preschoolers - I respond with:
'Buddy - there's a villain over there. We have to go save the world, hurry!'
He ran to the other side and was quickly wrapped in play with his fellow preschoolers. Whew. My heart still melted for him. I hope he never loses his enthusiasm for socializing; even if not everyone is up for the task. Always try bubs.