Last night, we were at a mall playspace so Arno could both run around and have some exposure to other kids. There were many little children screaming and running all over. It’s weird how not all that long ago I would have avoided such an environment like the plague, and now I actively seek them out. The internal aversion is just…gone. Weird.
I tried to take a video, but there was just too much going on. I wanted to make a joke about it being the local germ exchange. Welp, joke made.
At one point someone brought out a bunch of balloons for the kids to toss around.
It was the older kids who mostly had control of the balloons, with little throngs of younger kids chasing them around. It was here that I got to witness some stuff:
At one point an older kid was sitting on the ground with a balloon and Arno wandered over to them. He indicated that he wanted the balloon. After a moment, she gave him the balloon. She watched him play with it for a little bit then moved on.
Later, while running around, another child bumped into Arno and he fell down. Another older child witnessed it and went over to him. He put his hand on Arno’s shoulder and spoke to him for a bit (I was too far and it was too loud to overhear.)
These were real and valuable interactions for Arno, but I get the teary feels when I think back on this. I really, truly hope Arno can be this kind and compassionate as he grows.
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