Only Child Antidote

I spent the weekend in Chicago visiting my BFF. We have been BFFs long before anyone ever thought of up the title BFF.

She is my only child antidote (and my shopping muse). She is what I imagine having a sibling is like. Someone you can always talk to about anything at anytime. Someone who understands you better than you understand yourself. And, in my case, someone who can help you find the perfect outfit even if you are not looking for one (and often it's something you would never ever try on if you were by yourself).

I have tried to explain to JJ that relationships like these are important. That family is more than just the people we are related to by blood but also the people we are related to by our heartstrings.

It’s a difficult message for a 7-year-old to grasp but I think she gets the idea on some level. She spends a lot of time with E., her only child friend from across the street, and often refers to him as her brother. JJ and her other only child buddy, S., often beg for a sleepover when they get together.

It’s a start.

But being a BFF requires more than just the convenience of being across the street from each other or both being only children. (My BFF is not an only child, by the way, but her only sibling lives in another country.)

Overtime, I hope JJ will learn that friendships require compromise and compassion, the ability to listen without interrupting, the courage to ask challenging questions and the grace to accept that your needs don’t always come first.

For now, most of JJ’s friendships are based on a mutual love of Pokemon cards, Star Wars Legos and Phineas and Ferb. But, eventually, I hope she will find her BFF and only child antidote.