A Shout Out to Best Friends

The other day, H was looking at a collection of framed pictures on our bookshelf and said 'That's me and my friend.' I was at the wrong angle, and couldn't think of any pictures of him and any other kids. I asked him who he was referring to, and he said 'My Mommy. That's me and My Mommy. My Friend.' Ahhhhh. Heart-warming moment. Later, he was looking at the photo of J and I in Hawaii from last Spring, and he said that we were his mommy and daddy; his friends.

H is very into naming people and talking about the relationship that each thing has to the other and to himself. I was quartering strawberries for him later in the evening, while J was making H's dinner, and H said 'Strawberries! Thanks! You're my best friend!' I was glowing as J looked at me incredulously. I had a witness this time, it wasn't just some little anecdote from our day.

It's the little reassurances that make me feel less guilty about the times that I'm 'raising my voice' to gain compliance, and ensure that he follows direction. I know that a lot of my impatience with him is being in my third tri-mester and just tired all the time, but that's somehow not very comforting.

I spend so much time planning fun stuff for us to do together, that I really hope the things he carries with him are not my repeated rantings of "That's One!" I remember an episode of Sex and The City where Charlotte and Trey are dining with friends who have children. The mother says 'That's One!' and Trey asks how many the kid gets, while the dad dryly replies "Forty-Five."

It sometimes feels like it's impossible to be consistent without being redundant. My neighbors are probably mouthing along to my 'I'm tired of telling you something a million times!' I'm sure they're picturing a surly teen-ager, not the angel-faced little boy who literally dances his way to the playground.

I hope he'll still think of me as his friend after little C is born, and that I behave in a way that is deserving of the title. My parents used to remind my sister and I frequently that they had us so close together so we'd have a built-in friend...'So go play, and quit fighting!' I look forward to the day when he and C are 'best friends.'