Making and Breaking Friends

Last week at gymnastics class Maggie had one of those experiences that breaks a Mama's heart. She had a run in with the real world.

There is a little girl in her class this semester that had been in her class last year as well and the mom and I have become casual friends. This little girl was having a rough time last week. If we had been playing t-ball she would have been the little girl off in left field picking daisies and doing cartwheels instead of playing the game. Maggie wasn't doing so well either - she would have been the little girl crying in the dugout because Mommy couldn't sit by her.

So at the beginning of the class there is warm up, and all the kids walk/run around the gym to get there hearts pumping. The little girl wanted to hold Maggie's hand to walk, and Maggie wanted to hold Mommy's hand, and the little girl got upset. The teacher distracted them both and everything was fine. But then later in the class...

We sat down next to the little girl along the wall to listen to the teacher's instructions. Normally I wouldn't have to sit there, but since Maggie was being clingy that day I was stuck chilling on the wall. The little girl looked at Maggie and said, "I don't want to sit by Maggie! I don't like her anymore!" Fighting back my urge to either tell the girl, "Well, we don't like you either!" or punch her in the face, I said, "Oh, that's too bad, why don't you like her honey?" And the little girl said, "Because she got scared of me!"

OK, so that stinks, but this is how two-year-olds express themselves and I have to deal with it. I didn't think Maggie really cared or understood until later that day she brought up this conversation, saying "Mama, that girl doesn't like me anymore." I just wanted to cry. Maggie was OK though, she rationalized it, told me that the little girl must have been feeling yucky that day.

I was feeling so sorry for the situation, how sad it is for a two-year-old to learn that some people, no matter how nice you are, simply won't like you. But then I got to see the real damage that was done. Maggie said to her dad the other night, after being disciplined for some minor infraction or another, "Daddy, I don't like you anymore!" Then last night during bedtime (we still hate bedtime) I got it too, "I don't like Mommy anymore!" Great. Can I just keep her locked in the house until she's 18? The influence of outsiders really sucks sometimes.