12/52 – This is my son, S, and his best friend M, after one of their hockey games last Saturday morning. M and S have been friends since the first day of junior kindergarten, when M picked my shy, new kid in the ‘hood out of the crowd and, as S tells the story, told S they were going to be friends. And I’ve been grateful since. For while S is no longer that painfully shy little kid, M is the sweetest, politest and most fiercely loyal friend a parent could hope their child to have, and the friendship that started that September day has endured.
But I feel a little melancholy as I type this and look at this picture. For this week, M and his family moved out of our ‘hood. They haven’t moved far away and we’ve all pledged to keep the boys in touch, but it is a different town and means different schools and fewer impromptu play dates, so it’s going to feel a long way away for S. It’s all part of life, of course, but this mama wishes sometimes that she could push back some of these sadder life events a little while longer.
