I think I know why I asked A. who his best friend is. It is because I am wondering if he actually, at the age of 2, considers any of the children he goes to school with his friends.

I always here other moms say, "Oh, Sally is little Billy's best friend at school," or some such thing. So, I began asking A. if he wanted to go see his friends at school, and he's pretty non-plussed about it. Actually, I think if he had his way (although he loves it when he's there), he'd rather stay with Mommy and Daddy. He likes his world small and ordered.

God must be laughing hysterically giving A. me as a mother, but I digress.

But I think this really stems from a recent encounter with one of A.'s teachers who said that he mostly gets time-outs for wanting to play with other kids and "getting in their space" when they don't want to play with him. Instead of saying, "Do they ever want to play with him? Do they play with each other at all?" The voice in my head began whispering:

no one wants to play with your child...he is going to be an outcast...junior high will be hell for him like it was for all of us but he will be all alone even in elementary school...he'll be one of those kids that the teacher has to take pity on because the girls don't want him to play with them and the boys don't choose him for their team...he'll either be withdrawn and only watch pokemon at home or he'll turn into a bully (our little gentle giant) and force his way in...

Just putting this down makes me think that maybe - just maybe - I'm overreacting a bit. (Contrived Writing Device that showed up at RM's blog would say here, "NO! Really???")

I'll tell you what, parenting without fear is the hardest thing I've ever attempted in my whole life.

Maybe I'll ask his teachers to clarify. Wouldn't that be grown-up of me? :-)