"Crushes"

My kids LOVE to listen to me tell stories about my childhood crushes. They just do. I don't know why, but . . . Okay I kind of know why. Crushes are fun. And when Mom sort of has a history of doing embarrassing things and just happens to have had a crush on about every boy she ever knew growing up . . . there are a lot of fun . . . and embarrassing stories to be told!!

Anyhow, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for "crush" stories myself. I keep on trying to get my kids to tell me theirs. My boys will start talking about a girl and the phrase might slip out, "So . . . you think she's cute?" or "Does she think your cute?"

I mean really, my kids are so cute! There have got to be some schoolmates that think so as well . . . and I want to find out! At least I thought I did.

So this last week Hayden came home from school one day and randomly tells me, "Rachel has a crush on me!"

"Oh really? And how do you know this Hayden?"

Hayden said, "Well . . . because she came up to me and said, 'Hayden . . . I think you are cute!'"

Well that would be a dead give away!! I thought it was kind of funny.

Then on Wednesday we were in a hurry to go somewhere, and I was trying to get Drew to listen to me and come get into the car so we wouldn't be late. He was a little distracted like he usually is, and after I yelled at him for the umpteenth time to get into the car he said, "Just a minute Mom . . . I need to get something to show you." Okay . . .

So finally he jumps in the car and hands me this folded up note. I opened it up and was quite impressed with the penmanship. It was very nice handwriting! And this is what it said,

Dear, Andrew, I love you and I think your really cute.
I think your the cutest on the entire planet and please
tell me you like me because I have a magor crush
on you. So whenever you feel lonely I am always
ther for you and don't forget that you are the 
Best and cutest boy on the PLANET!
                         love,
                             Katya 


How do you react to that one? I honestly wanted to say, "Whoa!!! I hope you told her that you aren't dating until you are sixteen!!" And then I wanted to remind him about the deal we made that if he doesn't kiss a girl until he is sixteen he will get 100 bucks. But I searched my inbox of memories for anything I had read in parenting books on how to act after a disclosure like this, and something told me not to over react. They are kids! Crushes are fun, right?

So I just replied, "Wow! . . . How did that make you feel?" To which he responded,

"It warmed my heart."

I'll have you know that I didn't laugh out loud at all during this whole exchange as he went on to tell me how she had him promise not to show the note to anyone, but . . .  he accidentally showed it to their arch enemy Aaron. After that she wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the day and kept running away from him. He felt pretty bad about that and wanted my advice on what he should do . . . Oh boy.

Things must have turned out okay because during our personal interviews last night I asked him about his friends at school, and he told me about how his best friends were Korbin and Katya. He and Katya spent their recesses on top of this bar on the playground talking. I guess Katya told Drew that her and Korbin had been together since preschool, but now she thought he was a jerk . . .

Oh my . . . Anyhow, during the interview Drew turns to me and says, "Mom? Why can't Katya and me play alone together?"

"Well Drew, we sort of have a rule that when you are playing with girls . . . it's got to be in a group."

Then he said, "Mom . . . we are just kids."

I thought to myself, "Maybe so Drew . . . but I'm not taking any chances."

I just asked him, "What do you think you would want to play with Katya if you COULD have a playdate alone together?"

"Oh I don't know . . . Girl things. I don't know. Whatever she wanted. She's the lady!"

I told him I liked that answer!:) . . .  But . . . if they had a playdate . . .  it would have to be in a group :) Anyways, I had to write about this one. This is serious business!!