Two things have happened in the last few days that have really made me realize how much Simon is growing and changing. It’s hard for him being the middle child. It seems like a lot of things Elias does get celebration and attention because he is the oldest and always the first to do everything. Caleb is the youngest…my baby…and he’s always the last first…if you know what I mean. Simon’s stuck in the middle.
Now that Simon is in kindergarten I’ve been trying to have him play with friends outside of school because I have seen with Elias that it really helps friendships develop. Plus it’s just fun. Unfortunately because of our schedule and because it just takes a lot of effort to set them up, Simon hasn’t had many play dates. We’ve had a few great ones…but just a few. Meanwhile Elias has a standing play date every week and sometimes more. Poor Simon.
Simon has been begging me for weeks to try to set up a playdate with a little boy in his class. We’ll call him “M.” I was having trouble finding any contact information for “M” because I had never met his parents, and so Simon enjoyed a few other playmates in the mean time. I’ll admit I wasn’t really motivated.
Last Thursday, Simon came home from school and told me that he had written down my phone number and given it to his friend “M” at school. He just looked so excited and pleased with himself. I have to admit my first instinct was to react in anger. How dare he give out my phone number! Who knows where that piece of paper is going to end up. Kid’s backpacks are like black holes. And I don’t even know these people! But my anger quickly turned to amusement, and maybe even pride. I wasn’t setting up the playdate for him, and he took matters into his own hands. It was pretty cute. The next day there was a note from “M’s” mom in Simon’s backpack with her contact info. I contacted her and set up a time for the boys to play. So…Simon’s idea payed off. It worked! He’ll soon be experiencing the joys and delights of a playdate with “M.”
This whole thing has really made me think about Simon and how he is realizing he can sometimes take his fate into his own hands. He can be proactive and assertive and try to make things happen instead of letting things just happen to him. Way to go, buddy! (Now don’t go giving out my phone number any more!)
And the second thing that happened was that today, Simon lost his first tooth! I arrived in the pick up line, and he ran out proudly with that little plastic tooth necklace.
I was super excited and asking him all sorts of questions and took this picture. I guess I went on too long about it because he very politely told me that I was embarrassing him and could I please stop talking about it.
I just looked at his changed smile all afternoon, and while it’s exciting, I am again mourning the loss of something. He’ll never have that baby tooth smile again. Soon, a huge thing will grow in right in the front of his smile and he’ll be changed for good. Onward and upward I guess, but I’ll cherish this little hole in his smile while it lasts.