One of my prayer requests for William (probably not unlike most moms) is for friends. He had a good friend in Maryland and one here in his class when he was three (who we still see on occassion). But, while kids at school and church are kind to him, he hasn't had anyone his age show a specific interest in friendship for a few years.
Recently, that has changed. Bob is a 6 year old boy who lives five houses down from us. Last fall he was still a bit afraid of William, often running away when he saw him. But this spring he is very different. He has a baby sister now, and I think his mom is busy and he's looking for friendship. He often comes out when we're walking the dog. When he was on spring break, his face seemed to live in our window.
And the best part is, he wants to play with William. He'll play with Lily too, but he pursues William. And he's shown an amazing capacity to understand William's limitations and how he needs to adapt to relate to him. For example, the other day, he climbed our fence.
The second time, I told him, "Bob, you cannot do that here."
"But I know how to climb fences," he said.
"Yes," I replied, "but if William sees you, he will copy you, and that's very dangerous for him."
He looked at me for a while in silence. Then he said, "So if Lily sees me, she won't copy me, but William will?"
"That's right," I said. And he made surer William didn't see him do it again.
As I plan for the summer and next year and search for social opportunities, this very natural, very appropriate relationship seems like a gift from heaven. No fees, no travel, no challenge of what to do with Lily and Abby, no program end where you say goodbye and probably not see those children again. I'm rejoicing.
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