Wanna be my friend?

James is so shy and nervous about going to summer camp. He cried again this morning and tearfully told us why it's such a "bad" place to go. (Full disclosure: It's a great day camp in a new air-conditioned building where they do fun activities with great leaders.) But for him, it's bad because none of his everyday friends are there.

But today, he ran to me with excitement when I picked him up. "Mom, guess what! There was a boy in line and I said, 'Do you want to be my friend?' And then he said, 'Yes, I like Batman LEGOs.' And now we're friends. Come meet him!"

As grown-ups, we sometimes end up in situations where we don't know anyone – when sending the kids to a new school, moving into a new neighborhood, getting transferred for work or attending a fundraiser. We awkwardly stand around and wait for someone to approach us, while everyone else seemingly has the gift of gab. So we think about our opening line: What do you think about this weather? Did you see the game last night? I love your dress.

Wouldn't it be easier if we could be as direct, simple and innocent as James was? Then we could just march up to another adult, stick out our hand and say, "You wanna be my friend?" After all, they may be thinking the exact same thing.