Off Kilter

#BaxtersBuzz

When I drop my daughter off at daycare, it's so interesting to me that at 17 months, she knows where to be. She takes her spot amongst the other kids in something that resembles a circle and waits for her cereal (even though she just ate breakfast at home. Who doesn't love cereal though?).

What's cooler than that is actually seeing her interaction with the other children. She only has a handful of words but she has friends! She is one of the youngest kids there and also the newest. So months back when she started, we'd see her kinda off to the side, playing by herself at the end of the day when we went to pick her up. Was she not being accepted by the other kids, my wife wondered. I thought she was just being a mom and overreacting, until I saw her with my own two eyes (always that that term was weird. How else would you see something?). Then I felt what my wife was feeling. It's a cool feeling to see my daughter's "peers" happy to see her when she arrives. We arrive later than normal a couple of weeks back so all of the children were there already. They all said, "Hi Zara," and one of the girls (who I was told was her bff) gave my baby a hug. Zara even patted her bestie her on the head, as to say, "Now now, everything is cool. I'm here." Interaction at any age still fascinates me. The roles we take on in particular groups, but that's another blog for another day.

I'm "off to the side" a lot at work. I'm in my own mind often, but rarely do I feel like I'm missing something. With a brain buzzing like mine does, it's easy to get caught up in your own thoughts. Don't get my wrong, I'll eat lunch with others if it works out that way but I'm completely satisfied with eating alone. I'll chit chat at the water cooler like everyone else.  I LOVE having good conversations,or even the occasional (when I say occasion, I mean any occasion that I get) grade school humor that seems to never get old no matter how old us men get.

The friends I grew up with set the bar so high regarding conversation, commonalities and charisma, that if they weren't around I knew they couldn't be duplicated easily. I have many folks that I'm friendly with, but I'm still working on not comparing everyone to my closest friends. It's like comparing every meal to your best meal ever. It would be tough to feel satisfied, right? There are people at work that I truly get a kick out of! Funny, smart, interesting folks that I'd like to learn more about. Many times, time doesn't allow it and it's hard work to convert someone you're a "fan" of at work, into a friend outside of it.

I get along with mostly everyone and if you take a quick glance, I seem to fit in just fine. It's only when you look closely that you see I'm actually playing off to the side by myself. Not that I've been relegated there, I just feel comfortable where I am.