Of Going to the Park, Making New Friends, and Being Shy
We went to the park today. I haven’t been there since last year when a group of rowdy kids decided it would be fun to push then two-year-old Timmy around on the jungle gym. That experience made me a little nervous about going back, but the kids needed to burn off some energy. They don’t like playing outside at home, but give them slides and ladders and swings and they are very happy.
When we arrived I saw no one. I breathed an inward sigh of relief. Then a tiny little boy toddled over a hill, followed closely by his mother. Soon I spotted his big sister going down the slide. I stiffened a little bit, but the woman seemed nice and her daughter was Timmy’s age, so there didn’t appear to be any threat of bullying.
Timmy and this other little girl immediately hit it off. He ran right up to her and yelled, “Hi!” She yelled an enthusiastic “Hi!” right back at him. From that moment they chased each other, raced down the slides, and told jokes to each other that only three-year-olds get. Kellie and the baby brother did their best to keep up. All four children had a great time and us Moms relaxed. Then they left and the next family came.
This time it was a lady on a cell phone and three boys. The youngest was Timmy’s age, but the older two were quite a bit bigger. This made me worry and I prepared myself for the tantrums as I dragged my kids off the playground and to the safety of home.
But these kids were awesome. You’ve never seen two older boys who were more eager to play with little kids. Each boy had a bottle of bubbles. The youngest wasn’t interested in his and ran for the swings. Of course, Timmy came running over yelling, “I want bubbles, Mommy!”
The lady was really super nice and gave the youngest child’s neglected bottle of bubbles to Timmy. He happily blew soap solution all over himself while the older boys blew magical clouds of bubbles for Kellie to run through.
Watching my children interact with other kids and make new friends so easily, I couldn’t help but remember being a kid and the absolute dread I had of strangers. Still do. Seeing other kids on the playground would have been enough to make me beg my Mom to take me back home. Painfully shy, I’ve always had a rough time making new friends. To this day, I have a terrible fear of walking into a room of new people by myself and I make my husband promise to stay by my side if I don’t know anyone. (Lucky for me, he’s the understanding type)
So seeing my kids greet these new people without any reservations or fear just makes my heart soar. I can’t help by admire the reckless abandon with which they met these strangers. Kids so much want to be like their parents someday, but maybe someday I can be like them.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:17 am
I came over here from a request of candle at both ends. I scrolled down and had to read this post because I related to just the title alone! I can identify with this whole post - the shyness as a kid, watching my children be un-shy with amazement. Shyness really can be painful sometimes. I’m even shy that I have a blog, although I pour my whole soul into it. Anyway, just wanted to drop a line & say I appreciate this post!
signed,
shy in Indiana
July 24th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Hi, Christy! Thanks for leaving the comment; it always makes me feel a bit better knowing that I’m not the only one.
I feel shy about my blog, too. You can probably tell that this post is a departure for me. I actually have a private blog that I put pretty much everything into. Reading your blog, Fern’s, and a few others are actually inspirational for me and are helping me to be brave.
Keep blogging and I’ll keep reading!