Luki Tries to Make Friends for the First Time.

Yesterday, we spent a lovely Saturday morning trying out a new cafe on Thrid Street called Toast Bakery Cafe.  We have driven past these shi shi looking cafes in the past and vowed to try them out one of these days but never really got around to it.  A whiff of beautiful fragrant teas made a very good first impression of the establishment and the food that followed was even better.  Gabe and I tried the dip sampler for breakfast which was an assortment of the bakery's favorite dips served with their rolls and toasts. It was something new and different.  We will definitely be going back.

For lunch, we went to Luki's favorite kid's restaurant, Lemontree Kid's Cafe where we celebrated his fourth birthday.  Since we have been coming here for over 2 years, Luki is well aware of the restaurant's layout and enjoys the mini Merry Go Round, Choo choo train, slide and ball pit.  We noticed him doing two new things this time.  First, he is now crawling around the ball pit on his elbows in an army style and can go around the pit several times enjoying himself immensely.  Gabe calls it his amphibeous army crawl.  The second and more important thing I noticed was he was actually trying to make friends!!

I noticed him watching all the children running around lauging and being silly and it looked like he was really trying to get involved in what they were doing or at least analyzing their behaviour.  At one point, he approached a little girl around 2 or 3 years old and another boy of same age.  I hadn't noticed, but Gabe said he was pulling on the girl's hair.  All I noticed was him tapping their backs and trying to give them hugs.  The two kids did not appreciate Luki's advances and the girl proceeded to push Luki away.  Luki approached them again and again and every time, the little girl and boy took turns pushing him away harder and harder until he fell flat on his bottom.  Gabe finally went to the rescue and scooped Luki out of the play area and fortunately, Luki didn't seem to understand the rejection he just experienced.  I witnessed all this unfolding before my eyes transfixed on what was happening unable to move or take my eyes off the scene.  I should have been the first one to intervene but I was waiting to see how Luki would react to the rejection, whether he would be angry or sad and start to cry.  Fortunately, he was clueless and when redirected to the ball pit, carried on with his army crawl happy as can be.  I, on the other hand, was becoming an emotional mess inside and felt my heart sink to the ground. 

I just witnessed Luki trying to make "friends" for the first time and get rejected in the meanest way. I felt so bad for him and wondered if he would every make any friends in the future.  It was so hard to watch his innocent first gestures be minsunderstood by other children.  Will any child ever take the time to understand him?