"I Want No Friends"

Resistance to change is a trait which runs strong through both the Sumner and Smith sides of the family, so our children didn't have a prayer of being spontaneous in life at all.  This characteristic is especially evident in our youngest child, Addy.  New situations evoke anxiety in her, usually manifested via looking down and hiding her face with her hand (i.e., "If I can't see you, you can't see me).  Luckily, once she becomes acclimated to a setting, the anxiety subsides and "normal" behavior emerges.  That is, until you change the situation again.  Rewind to last Sunday, which was Promotion Sunday at our church.  I had tried to prepare her for the change as best as I could, but to no avail.  She walked confidently into the preschool wing of our church as is typical on Sunday morning and strutted down the hallway until we came to a stop in front of her new classroom, which is down the hall from her previous one.  As I started signing her in, Addy grabbed my hand and started pulling me in the direction of her old room.  I tried to distract her by saying, "Look, all of your friends are in this room," to which Addy replied, "I want no friends.  I want my class!"  Luckily, one of her teachers from last year was in the room.  She held out her arms and Addy quickly wrapped her arms around her neck and clung for dear life.  I assume that after I headed off to the service that she rallied as I never received the dreaded "page."  By the time that I picked her up, she was as happy as a lark.  I guess that she decided that she does need friends after all, however  I am not looking forward to the Sunday when she realizes that her best buddy, Haley is no longer in her class.