My son

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The other day my friend stopped over. I've known my friend since kindergarten. She has two boys close to my son's age. My son is almost exactly a year older than her oldest son. They dropped in to give my son his belated birthday gifts and so her boys could play with my son. While they were here I realized how different they are from my son. Her boys are good kids but both very shy, especially her younger boy. Her oldest enjoyed playing with my son a lot. My son was shy up until he hit about 4 which is when he really came out of his shell and became very outgoing. I watched as my son very sweetly walked over and asked them to play with him and they stepped back at first but soon her oldest son followed my son into his room and they played with Legos and cars and swords. They were having a blast chasing each other around. Neither her boys or my son play with many kids outside of school. Her boys at least have each other but I guess they mostly fight. I know the last time we got together her son was bugging my friend to play with my son again. It would be great if they grew up to be friends the way my friend and I did. I often wish my son had kids his own age that lived closer. I feel for my son being an only child at times because he often has no one to play with and we live in a place where there aren't a lot of kids his age. I got a kick out of watching my son interact with her boys. My son being the outgoing kid he is, took it upon himself to give them a tour of our apartment which I found hilarious as you can see most of it from the living room. He had them lined up behind him showing them each area of the apartment one by one. "This is my room, this is the dining room, this is the hallway, this is the kitchen, this is the living room, this is the bathroom." He made sure to show them the light switches for the hall light too which amused me. My son is the kind of kid who makes a friend everywhere he goes. He's an incredibly polite and outgoing little boy and he's very sweet but he can also be incredibly bossy. He is an only child so of course, he is used to having things his own way. He is a lot better at sharing now but he still likes things done a certain way and forgets that other people don't always want to do things his way. It's something we work on. When I think back to when my son was 3 I honestly didn't think he would have friends and I thought he would be teased for various reasons. He outgrew most of those behaviors that I thought would hold him back socially and he really blossomed into a well liked little boy. I am glad my son is good with other kids and tries to make them feel comfortable. While they were here he really impressed me with how nice he can be. He didn't force them to play but eased them into it. He greeted them and smiled at them and said "would you like to play with me? You can come see my room if you like" and then went to his room and waited until they were ready and then happily played with them. I know some kids are shyer than others and I know some kids can be mean or bully others and I've always made it my mission to make sure my son treats everyone with kindness and doesn't leave other kids out and so far it has been working and I hope it continues to. He will play with any kid that wants to play with him and he doesn't leave them out. I haven't seen him be mean to other kids since he has been older albeit there was one time he hit a boy when he was losing a game and we had a long talk about why he shouldn't hit other kids and I guess he did tell that kid he was sorry. I don't and won't tolerate bullying. I love who my son is turning into. I like how he treats other kids with kindness even though he can get a little bossy at times but he has never been deliberately mean to others, the time he hit was because he is competitive and he got angry and struck out but instantly regretted it and apologized or so I'm told and we again explained to him why he can't do that. He is the kid that will stop and help another kid that has fallen. He always asks if people are ok and will feel bad if someone is hurt or sick. Watching him interact with other kids made me see how truly kind and sweet he can be. He understands some kids are shy and he is learning how to interact with those kinds of kids. He isn't the least bit afraid to ask people questions. He is happy to ask questions for those who are afraid to ask questions. I think one day he'll be great in business as he isn't afraid to ask questions and he isn't afraid to fail. He's learning that mistakes are ok as long as you learn from them and don't let them hold you back. He is really turning into this amazing little person. I hope that he always remembers to stand up for those who are afraid to stand up for themselves. I was never like my son, I was a lot more like my friend's son and I often wished I would have had someone like my son as a friend who would have put me at ease and welcomed me right off the bat. The firends I made over the years took time and a lot of warming up, no one ever just came up to me and asked me to play with them and made me their friend in minutes the way my son does.