Hike

So I'm at the park w/ David yesterday after work...He can make friends with other kids now, sortof...really he can just interact with them...when he's going up the ladder for the slide he asks if the other kids are coming with him...at some point we decide to go on the boardwalk, and it just so happens that a small group of people (it turns out to be 7 kids, and two adults...who seem to be part of a larger group)...so we're walking along the boardwalk, and David, being a little kid, squeezes himself through the two adults walking, and the two adults and I start talking a little bit about the boy, and when we ourselves were small. We get to the end of the boardwalk and the dad says that there's a trail...and I've never heard of this trail, so I'm wanting to go along with them on the trail...and I've ingratiated myself to them enough that I ask if I can go w/ them, and they say sure...so we go on this trail...and it turns into a 45 minute walk! It was really interesting, though! The trail was nice. The people were nice. And they didn't think I was a weirdo! Of course, I had David. That helped. Actually, without David, I wouldn't have been anywhere close to that park...The kids pretty much accepted me, and David and I brought up the rear of the group. A couple of the younger kids said they were scared, lost, etc...and we three adults helped calm them down, as we say, "We're not lost..." and I talked about being Boy Scout and such. That helped. I tried to say things that would be seen as helpful, useful, and make me seem "safe". It would be strange if I was part of a group and some strange guy just showed up the way I did. I felt extremely accepted by them, though. We had a blast on this little hike. And after we got back to the park, some of the other members of the group began talking to me, too...I never did ask how they all knew each other, or try to get to know them more. Hmmm...gotta work on that. This was a chance to make real friends. The last thing is that I find out the dad's name is David, and that his father's name is Russell. Wow. They were all impressed by that. I had no idea...I just introduced myself to David's wife, and she says, "Oh, that's my father in law's name." Wow. It was a great day out at the park. I don't have to keep so close a watch on David anymore...he's much more self sufficient.