I get by with a little help from my friends…..

Anna Cate is so blessed to be in a school with so many truly caring friends and teachers.  The amount of support she receives from her peers sometimes is astonishing.  They are by her side and help her, play with her, encourage her and choose her to be their partners in school projects (I think this is my favorite!).   They see her just like one of them, but when they have questions they are not afraid to ask and to learn. 

The smile that these friends bring to Anna Cate daily is priceless.  When I am having a bad day, I like to look at these pictures as seeing the smile on Anna Cate’s face makes me smile! 

Ever since Anna Cate’s diagnosis, my biggest fear would be that she wouldn’t have friends.  Friends are a part of growing up and I did not want Anna Cate to go through life alone besides her family.  I didn’t want her to sit at lunch alone, to not get picked to be partners in class, to not have play dates…the list is endless. 

I have to say that this should have been the least of my fears.  Anna Cate is not only liked by many, but loved.  The girls want to be her partner on projects, they pick her to play with on the playground, they fought over pushing her in her chair when she had her surgery, they pick her to have lunch with them when their parents come to school and they invite her to their birthday parties.  They treat her like their other friends and that is all I wanted for her. 

I do still have a slight fear, that as these friends get older, they may change as I know middle and high school is a very trying environment, but I hope I am wrong.  Especially as Anna Cate gets older, friends are going to be even more important to her. 

A friend of Anna Cate’s will learn so much about friendship from her.  Anna Cate will not talk about you behind your back, Anna Cate will not repeat things told in confidence,  Anna Cate will not make fun of you.  Anna Cate will just be by your side and listen.  She will not judge, she will just be your friend.  Anna Cate will enjoy your company for who you are, no need to impress her.   And if you are lucky she will leave you with her contagious smile until you meet again.

I will not dwell on the future, but did want to mention my little fear.  Instead I will enjoy all the pictures being sent to me from her friends parent’s, all the notes she gets from her friends saying how AWESOME she is, the high fives she gets in school and the smile on Anna Cate’s face when I mention her friends names.  A smile takes a moment, but the memory of it lasts a lifetime.