Wish I Had Recorded It

So my dear Sweetness has had a rough year as a sixth grader. Her & her BFF drifted apart since they don’t have classes together and don’t live close enough to hang daily. Sweetness has taken that very hard since she is a very loyal friend and tried hard to maintain the friendship. She doesn’t fault the other child and holds no ill-will towards her but misses her friend.

She has tried numerous times to find a new bestie with little luck, none measure up to her old bestie. Sweetness has always had a slightly difficult time making good friends. Some girls don’t like her having never even met her. Some are fair weather types that blow in and out with the weather. Sweetness is friendly to everyone and never judges anyone. She is the first to step up to defend a student being bullied, she is the first to offer assistance to a student struggling in class, if she sees a student lost in the lunchroom (holding tray with no idea where to sit) she invites him or her to join her table. She has a few friends that she eats with regular and enjoys their company but they each already have a bestie.

The week prior to spring break she was invited by a neighborhood friend to join her and two other girls to eat lunch in their math class. The girls would occasionally help their teacher but mostly spent their lunch period laughing and dancing. Things were looking up for dear Sweetness.

She was even beginning to feel as though one of the other girls wanted as much as she did to have a real bestie. Oh what joy. UNTIL – last Friday when the two girls realized that when the new middle school opens next fall Sweetness will transfer to the new school and the other student will stay at their current school. Drats.

All weekend Sweetness moped about because of it. Today she texted me a number of times from school (hiding in the bathroom – she gets to keep her phone on her per her 504 but is not supposed to be texting). One of the texts was “I am having a not so good day” to which I responded “Sorry baby – some days are just like that – even in Australia” I got a “Nice. Love u.” in response. I hope it made her smile.

When she got home I “invited” her to peel potatoes and while she was peeling I encouraged her to keep building the friendship with the new friend. They can continue to text and Skype over the summer and the years beyond until they are reunited in High School. I asked her what made this new friend so special.

HERE IS THE PUNCHLINE AND WHY I WISH I RECORDED IT FOR FUTURE USE….

Sweetness, “Because she is so much like you. Her humor, her sarcasm, they way she is always singing and all her movie quotes. I like her because she is you.”

Holy Cow – I waited a bit for her punch line but it didn’t come. She didn’t ask for anything. Could it be that my child actually likes me? I almost told her to check her blood sugar to be sure she wasn’t low and thus delirious. How long can this last for? If I had it recorded I could use it to remind her that once upon a time she really did like me. How lonely can my dear child be if she is drawn to qualities in a friend that remind her of her mom?

This is me and Sweetness the day before she was diagnosed.

 This is my Sweetness now.

I just wanted to share her with everyone since she makes me so very proud every day.