My child met yours somewhere along the way. Maybe we met a few months into preschool or maybe when my oldest started first grade. Wherever it was, whenever it was, I thought you should know how much I appreciate you. I thought you should know that the child you are raising is pretty great, too.

Friendships at this age are the best. There are no politics or opinions passed down from others – there’s only favorite colors or a mutual love of princesses and superheroes. After our children’s first play date, I instantly saw what my daughter saw in your son. She saw a friend who was willing to take turns playing a game of her choosing. She saw a friend who held the door open for her and told her that she looked like a “rockstar” in her school picture. She saw a friend who used his manners and a friend who loves Hot Wheels as much as she does.

You have raised an exceptional little friend for my daughter. You have given her a friend she talks about on weekends and can’t wait to see on Monday morning. You have given her a friend whose birthday party she is as excited for as her own (and I can assure you, that is a lot of excitement). She was devastated when he wasn’t selected to be the classroom helper and prayed about it until it was his turn. Her heart loves his heart, and that makes me grateful for you.

When my kindergartner wanted to see your daughter on the weekend, I was more nervous than I ever had been in my life asking someone on a “date”. What if you said, "No"? There would be two hearts broken in this household instead of one. I literally held my breath as I read your text. What a true relief it was to read that you’d love to get the girls together, a blind date arranged by 5-year-olds. We totally hit it off. I immediately could see how your sweet-natured daughter was a friend she wanted to spend more time with than just in school.

Your daughter knows my daughter’s pets’ names and her favorite flavor Capri Sun. She knows what my daughter wants to be when she grows up and her costume plans for next year's Halloween. She knows all of this and more because they love nothing more than just being together.

Thank you for raising such an awesome human. Thank you for being the parent who taught by example. Thank you for the lunch dates and the occasional text messages that suggest we get them together. Thank you for allowing my family into your family’s lives, I know how busy you are. Thank you for making their friendship a priority. Thank you for inviting us into your home on your precious weekends – I know exactly how valuable that weekend time is.

I hope they really are friends forever, so we can be, too. It’s hard to let your kids out into the world. It’s hard to worry about who will break her heart and why. But for today, I just see her happy. I see her spending this play date with a friend she adores, a friend very worthy of her adoration. It’s hard to let them choose their own friends, but I now see that mine have done a pretty great job of choosing some amazing friends to surround themselves with. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you and that I will forever be grateful for the awesome little human you have raised.

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