That's Just What Friends Do

March 29, 2010
Nicholas met his best friend Edward several years ago at school, and they've remained close ever since. Eddie is an incredibly bright kid (as a seventh grader, he's already taking his math class at the high school) and is very mature in a lot of ways. But just like Nicholas, he's also got the sweet soul of a little boy, too. Neither of them is remotely interested in some of the 'big man on campus' personas lots of junior high kids start experimenting with at this age. Oh, they'll get there, but for now they are quite content to bond over Digimon cards and games on the Wii and Star Wars and chess.

I adore Eddie and love what a positive influence he is on Nicholas. Eddie's parents also love Nicholas and welcome him with open arms into their family. They are impressed with how polite and respectful he always is whenever he's there, and how both of the boys are so willing to include Eddie's younger siblings in their play. It's pretty funny, because as much as he's grown physically this past year, he's quite the conspicuous addition to their household when he's there--a tall, burly blonde young man in the midst of this petite, dark-haired family. No matter--as different as he looks, he fits right in.

Not long ago, back from a visit at Edward's house, Nicholas asked me if we could purchase the Rosetta Stone computer program. If you're not familiar with it, the program is a very expensive means of learning languages, though it's supposed to be very effective. I thought the question was a little out of left field, since Nicholas had never expressed much interest in learning foreign languages. I asked him if he knew what it was for, and why he thought he'd like to have it. "Well, Edward's grandparents live with their family, but they don't speak very much English. I thought it would be nice to learn Hmong so that when I go over there, I can talk to them, too." Totally unsolicited, he wanted to reach out to Eddie's grandparents just because the family was so good to him and he felt so connected to them. Oh, it just made my heart melt! Unfortunately, Hmong is one of the languages Rosetta Stone doesn't offer. We're looking into summer school classes instead. It's okay, though, even if we don't find a class; I'm quite certain Nicholas and the grandparents have already communicated the most important message to each other.