September 11, 2006 - Monday
For much of last school year, although increasingly as the year came to a close, Harry would get off the school bus and kind of walk in the other direction from me. It wasn't anger or maliciousness, just Harry being cool or coy and pretending to notice something in the yard or have something important to think about. I think it's probably a habit that started a couple of years ago at the Moppet School when he used to run away or hide when I came to pick him and Jeremy up. I think Rip used to encourage him and think it was funny. I tried to ignore it, and find Jeremy instead, but that didn't really help. I probably talked to him about getting off the bus a few times, but right at the end of the year I found a different approach. He had just ignored someone else at the Moppet School in kind of a rude way (although, again, I don't think maliciously) so I told him something like, 'Harry, I don't think it's a very good strategy for you to walk away from people and to pretend like you're not happy to see me when you get off the bus. If you want people to be your friends then you need to make the think that you're interested in them and care about them, not run away, even if you're just playing a trick. They'll think you're not friendly and won't want to be your friend."

It was too close to the end of the year to know if he heard me, but I'll be darned if he hasn't gotten off the bus every day so far this year and come right over to me. We talk about his day at school and it continues in the car on the way to get Jeremy.


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