“I don’t want to be your friend anymore.” These words what were came out of the mouth of one of my child’s preschool classmates this morning. It completely caught me off guard and left me speechless. Honestly I didn’t think I’d have to deal with these words until a few years from now. My child looked at me with those big beautiful eyes of hers and asked me why did this person, not want to be her friend. Honestly it took all I had not to break down in tears in that classroom, hug her and just take her home. Of course I’m being a bit dramatic but it wasn’t far from the truth. I just looked at her and told her that maybe this child wanted to be friends with someone else today and that tomorrow they could be friends again. Did I handle it right? I have no idea. Did I do what I thought was best for my child in the moment…absolutely.
This morning got me thinking that there are going to be so many things that we as parents are not prepared for our children to face. Their first ‘un-friending’, their first fall off of their bicycle, their first crush, their first dance, their first date, their first heartbreak, and I could go on and on. When I managed my team I used to tell them that they had to punt. When they were in a situation that they weren’t sure what to do, but were the ones in charge, they had to take all of their knowledge and make a decision. Would it be right, would it be wrong, we would only find out in the end. My sweet dear Miss K, this morning I punted. Fingers crossed it all turns out well.