Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Broken Hearted Little Boy

My son Andrew is very shy, which regrettably he gets from me.  Last year when he started preschool he was so upset and scared and his biggest fear was making a friend.  So his teacher last year bent down and said "Andrew I want you to meet Nate!  Nate will you be Andrew's friend?"  Nate said yes and gave Andrew a big hug and the two of them were best friends all year.  The teacher always sat them next to each other and when I would pick Andrew up he was always next to Nate or playing with him on the playground.  It was so cute and Andrew talked about him all the time.

After I went to the parent meeting on Monday to meet Andrew's teacher I got to find out who was in Andrew's class so that when I got home I could tell him all about it.  The first thing out of his mouth was "Is Nate in my class?  I looked at him with sad eyes and I told him that no, Nate was not in his class this year.  Instantly Andrew buried his head and started to cry.  He was embarrassed that he was crying so I took his hand and held it and I said "Buddy it is okay to be sad and it is okay to cry.  Nate is your best friend in school and it is sad that he is not in your class, but you will make some new friends and who knows maybe you will see Nate on the playground."  Our talk lasted a very very long time.  He cried for about 15 minutes and when he stopped I asked him what he was thinking and again his biggest fear was not making friends.  I promised him that I would introduce him to someone so that they could be friends just like he and Nate are and that seemed to help. 

Yesterday Andrew got to go to the school and see his classroom and he meet his teacher and that went great.  I never really got the opportunity to introduce Andrew because right away he went off to play.  He reminded me later that I didn't do it but then said it was okay because he had two little girls from last year that he would play with.  :)  I would be lying if I didn't say I am a little nervous about today.  I have shed a few secret tears because although we did this last year after watching him be so worried about friends and knowing personally how hard it can be I feel for him.

I did find out though that he will have the same playground time as Nate so they will still get to see each other on nice days.  That I am very happy about and so is Andrew!

I will update after his day today to let everyone (family) know how his first day went.  Wish us luck!  lol.




7 comments:

[ker-AND-uh] said...

that's a big fear for me once austin gets into school too. i was pretty shy too in school until people asked to be my friend so i can understand! i hope it all goes well!!

Anonymous said...

What a great post. My daughter is SOOO shy too and I'm worried for her when she starts pre-school next fall. Your story gave me hope :) although it was so sad that your son missed Nate so much. Glad they had the same playground time :) I hope Jasmine is given a friends too to help her along.
I'm a new follower of your adorable blog. I found you thru your blog designer's button.
Cheers,
Tiffany

Pink Media Studio said...

Hi, love your blog and your post. My daughter was painfully shy, had separation anxiety and increased difficulty in school as she progressed through 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade. We finally found out through a phsychologist's diagnosis that she has Asperger Syndrome. She is now schooled at home, gets lots of outside activity and is thriving while learning for the first time. I am in NO way suggesting your son has this, I am just sharing because it touches me deeply.
Anyhoo, I am hopping over to follow you. Please come see me at www.pinkdivacafe.com and www.okcbloggirl.com
Noel

Anonymous said...

Oh bless his sweet little heart! I hope he had a good first day! :) And I hope he has a good school year too. Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am your newest follower! Looking forward to reading more.

Johanna said...

Hi, love your blog, and the little one be fine at school, hope he made lots and lots of friends. Please peek in at my blog http://www.momstreehouse.com/ and follow me as well, love to read from you. : )

Rachel said...

Great blog, I love the design! I hope your son has a good first day of school and will make another close friend. I'm your newest follower, I'd love you to visit my blog at http://www.dancinganddishes.com/

Janelle said...

Thanks everyone,
He had a great day at school and was sad that he had to wait 4 days to go back (because of the long weekend). I will be posting pictures soon. :)

Thank you to the new followers I have followed everyone back. I look forward to reading more.