As close as you get...

There are a lot of great people that I work with at my school. Some of them I barely know because my fourth/fifth grade hallway is far away from the second and third grade hallway. All last year I barely got to know any of the teachers at the 2/3 level because I never really went back to that hallway except when I took the kids to the computer lab. It's sad, really, because all the people I work with are just so nice!

Earlier in the summer, when we had all just started the school year again, I was out to recess and one of the third grade classes was out with me. I spent the thirty minutes talking to Sara, a third grade teacher. She and I chatted about the fact that I was looking to move near the end of August. When I told her that we were thinking of moving to the little town near our school where she lives she grabbed hold of my arm and proclaimed: "YOU HAVE TO MOVE HERE!" Well, I told her, we want to and most likely will. Sara then says that if we need help moving that she and her husband will help, but only if we move to her town. :) Indeed, Chris and I did move to that town, but I figured I would let her off the hook. I mean, Sara was the type of person I would definitely be friends with, but I didn't consider us friends just yet and I didn't want to take advantage of someone. Not only that, but I was really sure if she was serious. Last week we passed in the hallway before school and stopped to talk. I told her we had moved and gave her a general idea of where the new place was. It was left at that and all was good.

Remember when you were in like first grade and all you had to say to someone to be friends with them was: "I like butterflies too! Let's be friend!" Yeah, life was so much easier then. You were just trusting that when someone said that- well they really meant it. So as Sara and I talked more in the hall and she said she was excited to know another couple without kids was close to where she and her husband lived, well you always just wonder: "So, does she really want to be friends or is this the polite adult thing to say because that's just how we do it now?" I really didn't know, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone at recess who had been with her significant other for a while and has a similar life style and didn't have kids just yet so there was a little more freedom to do stuff. There is just this weird dance that we adults do, isn't there? That time when you have to figure out if the other person is serious about starting a new friendship. Wouldn't it be easier if we could just come right out and say: Let's be friends.

Yesterday, during the assembly for the 3-5 grade kids I was sitting against the wall on the floor. One of my students had gotten in trouble and had earned his place completely away from the main group and had to sit with me. Sara must have been sitting near me (with her own class) when suddenly she was there in front of me. "Hey! Now that you're in town we need to get together. We should exchange phone numbers! E-mail me yours over the weekend! Are you guys all settled yet?" I agreed! We should get together and hang out. We agreed to e-mail (which I will be doing shortly).

A few hours later, on my way home from school for the weekend it occurred to me: That was as close as you can get to the moment in first grade when your soon to be new friend walks up with a big grin and simply says: "Hey, you seem cool. Let's be friends."