A wave and a friendly "Hello" in the wake of lock downs

How did my toddler come to be so friendly in a society that has become so unfriendly? I wonder how long I can shelter her from daily disasters and violence covered by the news media and how I can prolong her childhood innocence that brightens the days of those we meet.

HUGable has been waving and saying hello to strangers for a while now. Perhaps she has take cues from my standard practice of calling every stranger a friend. She'll walk through a restaurant and wave at the patrons like they've all been sitting around waiting for her to appear! Her actions garner reciprocal waves, grins and laughs. Doesn't matter what age, gender or race. She is unafraid and super-friendly.

A few weeks ago, she waved to a middle school aged boy sitting on a bench at The Maxx, HUGable's name for our favorite discount retailer. He gave her the look of a child who lost his innocence too soon; it was a mix of surprise, disbelief and disdain. Thankfully, she didn't notice and continued right out the door waving to smoking man by the exit doors.

Last week, she made me smile as we approached the park, and she waved to a similarly-aged girl and her mother. I wondered if Little MOMable was excited for a potential playmate or could predict that MOM would soon be chatting them up with the "How old?" ice breaker that opened up to a nice conversation and exchanging digits. Striking up conversations with strangers still feels excessively straining for this teacher mom, and I'm impressed that HUGable approaches it so effortlessly.

Thankfully, our Monday adventures did not include news coverage. I was grateful for conversation with moms at the park about what to serve children for lunch blissfully unaware that a good chunk of the nation's capitol found itself in lock down and am proud to say my phone was put away until nap time when I finally read about the news. Even if she doesn't see the news, someday she'll ask why the flags are lowered. Despite all the potential danger to her fragile innocence, I hope she continues to embrace the strangers she meets with compassion.