W is a chatterbox 10 year old who runs with the older girl crowd on the street. She has "saved" M several times by bringing her home when she wandered off to play while I was working in the front garden. (M was fine, but it was dramatic for W to "save" her) One day, W's friends weren't around, so she spent the whole morning playing with M. M was so thrilled, and kept telling me all about her "friend." When W had to go home, she promised M to come play again in 2 days. M waited on pins and needles for the blessed day. But with her friends back, W didn't want anything to do with a little 3 year old anymore. (You can't blame her really.) But W never came, and M would continually want to go out front to go find her "friend." When we would run into W on the street she would quickly give us some reason why she couldn't play and run off to her friends.
M was convinced W was still her friend, and kept wanting to go find her at her house. Alex and I tried to tell her that W did not want to be her friend or play with her because she was so much older, but she just didn't understand. Finally one day we were out front and M saw W playing down the street. She excitedly ran to her to ask her to play and was broken hearted when W told her she didn't want to play with her & to go home. It hurt me to see her so sad, but what can you do?
Now to explain these pictures:
M was playing in the backyard, just screaming/squealing for fun when suddenly some girls on the other side of this fence started squeeling back. They had a blast echoing each other for a while, and M ran to tell me about the new friends she had made on the other side of the fence. If she peeked through the slats, she could even see them jumping on their trampoline. I asked her if they were big girls like W or little like herself and she was sure they were little. So, at the prospect of a girl her age nearby, we walked around the block to meet her new "friends"
Turns out the "little" girls were actually 8 and 10 years old, and were not thrilled to see a 3 year old that they were forced to be nice to in their yard. I quickly made our excuses (it was bedtime for M anyway) and had to practically carry her kicking and screaming from their house.
For days M would beg me to go play at her "friend"'s house, and I had to insist that we would not be going until we got an invitation from them. (which I knew would never happen, but I couldn't brake her heart again.) So for days, M would peek through the fence waiting for the girls to play in their yard. If she found them there, she would try to play her scream/squeal echo game again. But the girls would never squeal back.
This day, Alex found M in the backyard, just forlornly staring through the fence at her "friends" and squealing, to no reply.
Another day he found her with a kitchen knife in the corner trying to cut through the slats to get to their yard. (picture pending). Oh what I'd give to find a little girl her age on the street for her to play with. :(
3 comments:
We lived on a street when my kids were small that had NO kids for several streets around us. We just relied on friends from elsewhere to get together with to play. It was sad, but you just do what you have to do. They survive.
That is so sad! I hope she finds some friends soon!
Sounds like it's time for preschool! And man, is this what I'm in for with a girl--turn your back for 5 seconds and they get into everything or wander off? At least they're super cute.:) Thanks for the update!
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