Fabulous Friday

Happy Fabulous Friday all! What's fabulous about today is friendship!

I took Sticky for her first official visit at her new child care centre today. We got her into the one we really wanted and she'll start with one day a week at the end of August. I'll be taking her in for a few hours every Friday leading up to it so she can get use to it.

We arrived in the middle of free time which meant all the kids in the centre could play wherever they like. I was sitting on the floor with Sticky when 3 older girls came in. I love that 4 year olds have no fear and they just want to know everything! This little trio peppered me with questions about who I was, who Sticky was, how old she was, what we were doing there etc etc.

They told me there names were Amelia, London and Sophie and even spelt them for me! As they chattered and interacted with me, I saw the little nuances friends share. The giggle, the light pats and touches, the gentle teasing and the laughs. This threesome was a tight little group.

The dynamics of the relationship were already clear. London was the popular leader and the glue that held the group together. Amelia was the goofy clown that made the other two laugh. Sophie was the serious, quiet, reflective one that kept the other two on the straight and narrow. They all had their role to play and valued each other's role.

I wondered if they would remain friends through primary school, high school and beyond. I wondered if Sticky's new friends - Alice, Clara and Luca would be lifelong buddies with her. I was amazed to realise that Sticky will spend the next 5 years, and possibly 12, and maybe even 17 with this group of kids! 

It was quite timely that I pondered all of this as I've been questioning some of my own friendships lately. I've been thinking of all the friends that have come and gone in my life, the ones that choose to left, the ones who simply vanished, the ones that have been there for a long time and the ones that have changed. I've been thinking of my current friends and how the role I play in the various groups has changed since becoming a Mum - partly because of choice and partly because Motherhood has taught me about what's really valuable to me now.

Most of all, I'm guided by what I want to teach Sticky about her friendships. I want to teach her about the true meaning of friendship, how to let other people treat you, how to be a good   friend, not a fair weathered one and to know when it's time to let go. 

I want to teach her what my Grandfather taught me - if you can count your good friends on one hand you're doing very well in life. I'm luckily enough that I can count that high so I'm going to focus on those friends as they are the ones who truly deserve my energy and time. 

I have no doubt that Sticky will be one of those people who has many close friends. She's one of those truly specially people that others just can't help being naturally drawn to. I think she's going to need both hands to count her close friends, and after that they'll need to take a number! Who knows, today, she might have met one or two who will be counted on those hands for many years to come!