will you be my friend?

isaac loves to play with other kids. he has since he was a very little boy, when his cousins would come over and play with him. when we still lived with my parents, i didn't really have any friends, which translated to isaac not having any friends either. he would get so bored during the day, so sometimes i would call my sister-in-law misty and invite her kids over to play. at each of his three birthday parties now, the only friends have been cousins. i recognize this to be my fault, because if i'm not out there being social, it's impossible for him to be.

one day we went to the park and he said, "mom i need a friend." so i pointed to a little boy about his age and said, "ask him to be your friend!" he seemed a little nervous, and wasn't sure what to say. he walked up to the boy and whispered "will you be my friend?" but the kid couldn't hear him and ran off to do something else. isaac was crushed. so was i, for that matter. i told him he needed to speak a little louder, and to tell the kid his name, and to go try again. he didn't do it. i thought he would be scarred for life. so the next time we went, i brought our bubble machine that makes gigantic bubbles. i knew kids would be attracted to that, and they were. he had about forty friends that day.

the next time we went back to the park i reminded him how many friends he'd had last time, so he worked up his courage, asked a kid to be his friend, and he and that little boy played for over an hour. in general it worked out, and he would have a great time. and we were never allowed to leave the park unless his "friend" had already left. he's had a few rejections, but with each "yes" his confidence grows, and now anytime we go to a park, he approaches the nearest kid, it doesn't matter the gender or age, and asks, "will you be my friend?" generally he's rewarded with a "sure!" and they run off playingbut those few seconds before the kid responds are agonizing for me.
what if he says no?
what if she thinks he's being too forward?
what if he thinks isaac is too young?
what if i forgot to brush his teeth this morning?
what if she says no?i'll be honest: no has happened before. it used to make him sad, and he would come over and tell me he needed a friend and, such and such kid was mean. so i'd put on a brave front, when i felt like crying and ripping that kid's head off, and say, "well you'll just have to ask somebody else!" like i would ever follow my own advice. one rejection and i'd be done for a lifetime.without fail, isaac finds a friend every time we go to the park, as long as there are kids there--which isn't always the case, especially when it's still freezing at the end of april...on this particular day, isaac's friend was isaac. they had the same name, and that was a major thrill for both of these boys. they had a great time running, sliding, chasing seagulls and geese and ducks and just being boys. whenever these friends have to leave, i always feel like hugging them and thanking them for not rejecting my little boy. and sometimes i even want to ask the mom for her number so we can schedule a play date! i've never done it though. i'm too scared of rejection.