“We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.” -R.J. Palcio, Wonder
I saw something I hadn’t seen since Anabel was diagnosed. I took her and her friend (I call them A squared) to see a movie. Once we settled in with their snacks she comfortably took her insulin pump out of its belt in front of someone other than her family. She plugged her stats in and let it just hang out for a while. After completing her bolus she told her friend a joke, they both laughed together and she tucked her pump away. Anabel typically is very secretive about her condition… still. I think she is generally pretty private anyway so it rolls over to her T1D. I can’t remember a time in the last year and a half when I’ve seen her so comfortable around another child, other than her brother. In this moment I was awe struck. It was a simple moment, just two girls at the movies and a nosy mother making an observation about their interaction. I have to admit it was amazing to see her so much like herself and comfortable in her own skin around someone else.
It’s merely a coincidence that we went to see the movie Wonder based on the book by R.J. Palcio. The theme of both is friendship and kindness and arguable the journey to find oneself. The main character struggles with a condition of his own. As he grows up he has to deal with the realities of navigating relationship building with children his own age, many of whom, could have used a few lessons in the value of kindness. A squared and their time together was an event of natural kindness and friendship.
The level of contentment I witnessed between my sweet one and her friend is something I don’t recall seeing in her often. I sat in the movie with these two lovelies and felt a warmth that I can’t describe. As adults, we understand how friendships go. Sometimes they are complicated and people who you thought you might always be friends with drift away. Whether these two dedicate themselves to a life long friendship, there’s no way to tell. However, I’m grateful for this pair today and what a friend has unknowingly provided to my sweetest one… comfort and acceptance.
Sweet Brown Child 
Good friends are always a blessing
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@becominghistapestry- it couldn’t be more true. I think we underestimate the bonds children can make with other children. I appreciate your reading sweetbrownchild and enjoy your blog.
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Thank you 😊
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Great observation, Mom. Whether the A’s continue their friendship in perpetuity your A also taught her friend that children/people are different and it is those very things that make us who we are and who we will be. So 5,10,20 years down the line when her friend encounters another PWD who perhaps is not so open about it, she will allow them the security to be who they are because she knows all too well that having diabetes is only a little different than having brown eyes, freckles or bottle cap lenses for glasses. Peace+ Tim the “DiabetesDude”
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