Tonight I took the boys to a moving away party for one of my parents' neighbors. There were some big boys there, ranging from about 6-12 years old. Will thought they were like, the most awesome people he'd ever seen. He saw them running around playing tag and HAD to join in. I walked over with him, thinking he'd get close enough see and then stop to watch them play. Because Will has displayed some extreme shyness/fear of other kids of late. To the point that he won't play on the neighborhood playground if we are not there alone. Anyway, so you can imagine my surprise when instead of keeping his distance, he marched right on up to those boys and started running around with them, laughing and shouting with joy. He was fearless! I was beyond proud of him. He obviously did not understand the game, nor was he actually participating. I'd have been pissed if one of them had really tagged him. But man, did he LOVE "playing" with them. The smile didn't leave his face once. I followed behind him at a distance as he ran up and down hills and ducked through the trees. I know I was hovering. But seriously, he's two. It's ok to hover when they're two. I was worried he'd wander too far, or fall, or get knocked over. Or worst of all, that they would be mean to him. I was scared the whole time that these big boys, who were generously ignoring the toddler disrupting their game, would get annoyed and that my sweet little boy would have his spirit broken. I had to continually tell myself to back off, so tempted was I to sweep him up and carry him off, ruining his fun but protecting his heart. To their credit, those big boys tolerated Will's puppy like adoration for quite some time. Even when he invited himself to their table and crawled up into a chair, laughing happily at whatever they said and contributing his own indecipherable chatter, those boys just listened. Though I'm certain that they were aware of my watchful eye and were perhaps more tolerant because of it. I wouldn't really say they embraced the toddler in their midst. But they weren't mean to him, which is probably the most I could have hoped for. And in the end, I think maybe Will liked that they weren't patronizing him or treating him like a baby. You know, because he really truly thought he was one of the big boys tonight. And while he wasn't REALLY one of the big boys, it turns out he's a much bigger boy than I gave him credit for.
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