Adventures in Boydom

So, my little man, Alexander, is 4.5. He adores his brother, walks in his shadow and hasn’t quite found his own identity outside of doing anything Liam does. For various reasons I was home more this summer, and so was he. So for the first time in his little life, we both felt the angst of being separated at the first day of school, because he truly had a summer mostly at home, or staying at Gigi’s (my mom).

He loves the Xbox and Skylanders, and being with me and having lunch at home. He is very able to entertain himself for two hours at a time, without screeching like his brother. So, today, as we walked up the ramp, he turned his little warm head into my thigh and hugged me close. “Mom, I only feel calm at home!”

He is quiet in a group, and doesn’t really like big parties, but he’ll talk your ear off one-on-one.
I struggled for a millisecond with the thought of managing with him at home, but there is really no way, and he really needs to be more social, away from the sheltering outgoing nature of Liam.

So, I sat with him for a moment and reminded him. “You are good. You are kind. You are smart. You can read already. You can help others read in class. You don’t kick or hit anyone, (this was also a reminder to him). He nodded and said “Yes, I am good.” I told him I loved him and he would have fun with his friends, and then the miracle we needed happened in the form of Izzie!!! (p.s. At dinner, Alexander declared the best thing about the day was eating lunch outside and sitting with Izzie. His new “best friend.”

Izzie is bright, bubbly, smart, always happy and rarely silent. She saw Alexander from 50 feet away and ran up to greet him, and the whole world changed for my little man.

The power of a friend!