It is both interesting a frustrating to understand that my son is his own person. They say kids figure this out around age 2, and thus begin acts of defiance to establish their independence. I guess a similar transition happens for parents, too.
I suppose I always accepted that there were "clicks" at school, but it is completely rational to play with a couple kids at a time and not an entire class. But I foolishly assumed they all get along. We can ask who Jonah played with at school and the answer is always some combination of the same few kids. Then I ask about some of the other kids in the class, and the answer is a firm "no" or even "he's mean". Even if grown-ups are always calling all kids friends, toddlers seem to know better.
While it's delightful for Jonah to make friends or recognize a bad apple, it is sad when his judgement differs from my own. A very sweet, but very shy little girl from playgroup kept asking Jonah, "are you my friend?" to which he kept replying, "no!", crying and running away. The poor little thing! I felt so sad for her, but admired her resilience. She must have asked a hundred times.
