Puppy Love

"Your neck is warm, Mommy," says Abi as she was snuggled up close to me a few nights ago. "His neck is warm, too," she says.
"Whose? Daddy's?" I ask naively.
"No, Jake's, Mommy. It's warm when I kiss it."
"Who the hell is Jake," I think to myself. "And what is the most painful way for me to kill him?"
"Who is Jake, Abi, and why do you kiss him?"
"Jake at kids' day," said with roll of eyes and exasperated tone. "I like to chase him around saying, 'Jakie, Jakie' until I catch him, and then I kiss his neck."

So, while I was incredibly relieved that Jake was not a pervert pedophile that I would be forced to kill with my bare hands, I was slightly less relieved that my daughter is chasing a boy and kissing him ... that she has her first crush.

It brought back memories of my first crush, also at age 4. His nickname was "Shorty," and he was the older brother of a friend at daycare. In the summer when he was out of school, he came to the daycare with Paula. I remember wanting him to play with me and being horribly embarrassed when Maxine made me eat lunch at a table with Shorty without my shirt on because I'd gotten filthy playing in the mud puddles under the swings.

So, I think I'll let "Jakie" live, but the next one might not be so fortunate.