Will You Be My Friend?

Middle Girl started Kindergarten is September and she loves it. She didn't skip a beat making the transition to her new school, her big sister's school, my once school. She and Big Girl get on the school bus every morning and she's just so jazzed about it all - her teachers, her friends, all of it.

It's been wonderful for me to get to know the parents of kids in her class. Two new mom friends have told me how much their little girls have taken to my daughter and this of course makes me happy, but both of them told me that my girl has gone up to their girls and asked them explicitly to be her friend. As in: Will you be my friend? Or: You can be my friend.

I was so taken aback my hearing this, that my girl has been so direct and no-nonsense in pursuit of her friendships. I guess I think of friendship as something that evolves and emerges organically, as a more subtle processing and maturing. But now I am wondering if my newly-minted six-year-old is onto something in her approach. Maybe we'd all gain something by being more direct in our dealings, by saying. Hey, I like you. We should hang.

Anyway, I'd love your thoughts on this. Do you think this simply comes down to the different ways kids and adults face the world? Are we adults more sheepish and coy and hedging while kids are confident and straightforward? How have your own friendships evolved? Your kids' friendships?