Johan is leaving Montessori school at the end of July and will start Kindergarten this fall. I know he will make many new friends and find someone that gets him as well as Nat does. But sometimes that takes awhile. And as Johan is about to learn, it's hard for your best friend to leave and then live far away. Fortunately, Nat's parents are encouraging of the friendship as well...we have plans for the boys to Skype. And since Nat will be in New York, it would be yet another excellent reason for a trip to visit Jamie and Michelle.
I think about my friendships- most of my close friends live many hours away. Arizona, South Africa, New York, Los Angeles. Who signed up for that? It'd be so great to have them all be near me so I could see them every weekend for play dates. But that's never going to happen and yet the friendships carry on. Sometimes quiet epochs followed by more frequent contact, but the relationships continue. In Johan's few years, I think I've given him some pretty good examples of how to cultivate friendships despite big distances. We'll keep practicing together.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these two sweet, goofy boys who love to eat mango popsicles even in the winter and who have turned many heads as they march through the streets of Minneapolis dressed as superheroes can keep the special bond they've formed.
Still, for today we are sad to say goodbye to Johan's first real best friend.
