Guess who's the social butterfly?

It sometimes seems as though I keep repeating the same mistakes as a parent. In my very own blog I've chided myself in the past for labeling my children. Of course that hasn't stopped me from doing it. Ben is the bright one, the sports fanatic. Paul is artistic and shy. Gus is, well, the crazy one. No, maybe we'll go with "extrovert" for Gus. I've read that labeling kids is not beneficial for them or you, but somehow it's so easy to fall into doing it.

I've mentioned that preschool was a bumpy ride for Paul, and by extension, me. I was genuinely concerned last year. Paul didn't really make friends at preschool. I volunteered often in his classroom, and I pretty much thought he was a loner. My shy guy - see, there I go again - honestly didn't seem to care whether he made friends. I worried what he would do in kindergarten. What would he do without friends?

That's why Paul's 180 is so amazing to me. Soon after he started the school year, Paul began to talk about his best friends from kindgergarten, Jonathon and Nathan. Not long after, he began asking to invite his friends to our house. Then he began going to their houses to play, something I swore he wouldn't do because of his strong separation anxiety (or more accurately now, his former separation anxiety). In no time, my middle son began asking to have someone over almost every day. I've watched with gratification as Paul has begun to do what all children should do: form strong bonds with their peers. It's amazing, now everyone is his friend: our neighbor boy, Matt, with whom he's bonded over a shared love of Pokemon, Landon from his faith formation class.

So, I guess my lesson is this: don't be like me. Avoid the temptation to label and just sit back and watch as your child grows and evolves. Or you can be like me - and watch in awe as your kid climbs out of the box you helped create for him.