The other day, I was watching the Instagram stories from my dog’s daycare and noticed that all the other dogs seem to be happy and playing together and my dog is usually off on his own. or sometimes with his bestie, G. I messaged them, saying “I wish Kermit wanted to play with the other dogs,” and the message back from the daycare was, “I think what’s important is we focus on what he likes and not what we would like him to like. He likes playing with his friend G, right? I don’t have a lot of best friends but the ones that I have are fulfilling and bring me a lot of joy.”

I can’t stop thinking about how wise those words were, and how they apply to kids, too. I used to feel anxious when I my son’s preschool teachers told me he preferred the “quiet corner” to playing with the others. I thought if he was sitting in a corner, he must be unhappy. It took me years to learn that that was his version of joy. It’s not for me to expect my children (or my dog) to like what I want them to like; rather, I should accept what they show me makes them happy and nurture that.