We’ve been doing a lot of morning walks sans stroller these days.

Ishu tends to lead us toward “Papa office.” Which is great for me because it’s also in the direction of Starbucks.

There’s an apartment building about halfway between our building and the Starbucks that Ishu always wants to stop at. Something about the revolving door seems to draw him in. He’ll stand there watching people come out and go in. And then he’ll see the man in the window – the Concierge – and inch closer to say hi.

The sweet man – who we now know as Mr. Lonnie – always puts his hands up to give Ishu a high five through the window. Ishu views this as an invitation to push through the revolving doors himself and hang out in the lobby.

Lonnie – who has been Concierge in this building for over 30 years – doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seems completely thrilled to talk to the both of us. Other employees of the building stop what they’re doing and come over to talk to Ishu.

“I’ve been wanting to meet this guy in person,” one man says as he squats down low to bump fists with Ishu. “We always see him through the window.”

Ishu stared up at the men and then got distracted by another person coming in through the revolving door.

Which triggered his memory that the revolving door existed.

“Bye bye Miss-uh Lo-nnie,” Ishu said as he headed toward the moving doors.

And just as quickly as we came in, we left the building, waving at Lonnie through the glass window.

Later in the evening, Ishu and I went to the park.

A parent I didn’t know – who was following his own little toddler around – waved to us and I thought he was simply being nice. He got closer and knelt down to say hi to Ishu.

He saw the confused look on my face and stood up and said, “Ishu, right?”

“Yes!” wondering how-in-the-heck this stranger knew my baby’s name.

“We see him sometimes here at the park. He comes with someone else,” he reassured me.

“OHHHH yes. Our Auntie Bella. Oh! This must be Patrick!” I said, remembering all the stories Bella has shared with me about Patrick. “It’s so nice to finally meet you both!”

We chatted for a bit before chasing after our respective toddlers.

A few minutes later, I caught sight of another mom smiling and waving at Ishu.

“Hi Ishu,” she said, “you look like you’ve gotten bigger since we last saw you!”

As I inched closer, I recognized this mom from the summer months we spent playing in the playground. Her kid had – obviously – gotten bigger and it had taken me a second to identify them both.

We, also, chatted for a bit. Until Ishu disappeared from my line of sight and I needed to move where I could see him.

Eventually, the sun started to set and the cold felt even colder. So we packed up our things and trekked on home.

We passed by the building Ishu loves so much. Someone – other than Lonnie – was sitting there. But we waved anyway. They smiled real big, waving eagerly at Ishu.

And I continued to smile the entire walk back.

Thinking about this little guy who has friends wherever the heck he goes.

I jokingly call him the “Streeterville Mascot,” because even if he hasn’t met someone, good chances are they’ve probably seen him boppin’ around the place. He’s a memorable little guy.

It’s funny when I think back on how nervous I was about moving to a new city. Worried I wouldn’t make any friends.

All this time, I probably should have been following my toddlers’ lead. He makes friends wherever he goes.