A Friend

We've had another good 24 hours with no sign of the anorexia.

Last night, N invited a friend to come and watch Harry Potter. It was a successful night. His new friend seems like a good kid. I can tell that they have become real friends. It's so good for N's spirits!

Since N has been sick, he has insisted that no one likes him -- that he doesn't have any friends at school. He is in a new school (since last year). T went with him to a school camp and confirmed that N really didn't have any friends. So, we've been really deliberate with him about finding a friend. We talked about planning some fun friend activities. Then I helped him narrow down some friend possibilities. He picked M because he was enjoying working with him at the school store. So I've encouraged him to make specific efforts to become M's friend. Each day N would report on how the day went. I knew things were going well when I dropped N off to school late on Tuesday. N had to run in and pay for his lunch, but a field trip bus was already on campus. I waited to make sure N made it back in time. As N got onto the bus and wandered to the back, I noticed that M had saved N a seat -- a sign of a true friend, I think. Then on Thursday, M asked N to call him after school to see if they could get together. N wasn't able to -- but we made sure to follow up with pizza and a movie last night. I'm sure that M is a big reason why N is doing so well right now.