1.27.2011

Lock up your sons, mamas. Thalia's discovered love.

L.O.V.E. candy
Photo: Marie LeBaron for Babycenter
"I love Connor* thiiiiiiis much," Thalia cooed, as she bounded from one side of my bedroom to touch the opposite wall. "And I always say Oh Connor, you're soooooooo great and then I hug him because he's my prince and I'm his princess."

Then she batted her eyelashes and looked up at me through them, all giddy and flush, chin down, hands clasped together and shoulders swaying side to side.

Let's be honest, it's adorable. Adorable and terrifying and OMG WHAT? YOU'RE ONLY FIVE!

Which means we had to have The Talk.

And I am so not ready to have The Talk.

(You know, the one about self-esteem.)

I told her that it's wonderful to love Connor. That it's super-swell that he's her boyfriend, because Mrs. M says he's sweet as gummi bears. And he's always so happy to see you in the morning and helps you off with your coat. And certainly, it's so very nice to tell him how great he is because it makes us feel good to make other people feel good.

But, I told her, if you're going to treat him like a prince, he had better treat you like a princess.

"Oh yes!" She insisted. "He treats me like a princess!"

"And how is that?"

"He always tells me he'll bring in candy for me. Yesterday he said he'd bring me the biggest candy cane in the world. Today he said he'd bring me some fruit snacks. Or maybe a cupcake. And he wants to bring me to Chucky Cheeses with him on his birthday."

"And does he actually bring you the candy?"

She thought about this for a moment, quite seriously.

"I guess he forgot."

"Oh Thalia," I said as I hugged her close. "I am so glad you and Connor like each other. But the first rule about boys: Sometimes they promise you things and don't deliver."

"That's okay--I like him anyway. Even if he doesn't bring me any candy."

I have yet to share with her the second rule about boys: They can score a 3 point shot from 21 feet away, but can never get their boxers into the hamper from 6 inches. We'll wait on that one.

This morning we woke up to a snow day and I explained to Thalia that schools had been canceled. Her first gravelly morning words: "Let's call Connor at home and wish him a happy birthday."

That Connor is one lucky fella. If he breaks her heart, I'll break his candy cane.


34 Comments:

Anonymous Lydia @ The Loop said...

Oh, that is cute. And so sweet she remembered his birthday!

Good life lessons you're treating her, too.

1/27/11, 8:15 AM  
Blogger HaB said...

Oh my goodness...That is so cute and sweet.

1/27/11, 8:40 AM  
Blogger Marinka said...

It's always the boys with the biggest candy canes that you have to watch out for.

1/27/11, 9:01 AM  
Anonymous Jen said...

As a mom of all boys, I have to say that girls terrify me now! Poor, sweet, unsuspecting gummi bears don't have a clue what hit them. They want to understand, but oh, they are so out of their league.

Then again, Mr. Help With The Coat seems like he's already got some moves that my much older boys are still working on!

1/27/11, 9:08 AM  
Blogger Truthful Mommy said...

Oh Mama. My Bella is 5 and she has ...Will! She won't even miss school when sick because of this boy. He is adorable and sweet as gummi bears too. Great family we all get along but she is 5.And she gets upset when ,as 5 year old boys sometimes are, is fickle. He doesn't talk to her as much one day because he is with "the boys". I tried to explain that its not personal but if she doesn't like the way she is being treated than she should either say something or move on ( Life lessons).Anyways, after the 1st week of school he made his parents buy Nutcracker tickets to see Bella in her first performance...he was sadly disappointed when he realized the ballet has no speaking parts but he waited patiently after the show to give her the Webkinz that he brought her...and her brought 1 for her little sister as well.That kids a smoosher and a romantic.I better keep my eyes on that 1:)LOL

www.motherhoodthetruth.com

1/27/11, 10:02 AM  
Blogger Aspen Real Life said...

Oh thank you for that! Loved the hamper comment. I have 3 boys and am getting worried for my Tweenager, and he's only 11!

Followed you over from Twitter.

1/27/11, 10:08 AM  
Anonymous Julie @ The Mom Slant said...

If only all candy canes tasted like peppermint.

1/27/11, 10:20 AM  
Blogger Amy Jo said...

Isn't it funny how quickly this happens? My son is almost 5, and has a girl in his class that he is totally smitten with. We'll make sure he knows just how to treat his princess for sure!

1/27/11, 10:25 AM  
Blogger Max said...

My son was 3 (THREE!) when he got his first girlfriend. Katie. Sweet little Katie. I don't know that my son promised her the world, but whatever he did, she was planning the wedding.

1/27/11, 10:29 AM  
Blogger InventingLiz said...

My daughter is three and already has a boy she wants to marry in her pre-school class!

I highly recommend the book The Paper Bag Princess to help figure out the difference between a prince that's worth keeping and one that's not.

1/27/11, 11:24 AM  
Anonymous dawn said...

You are lucky--my son and his future wife met when they were 3 and have been planning their wedding every since. They hold hands and put their heads on each other's shoulders and rub each other's back during morning meeting. It's insane. They write little love notes to each other that say "I love you". They are now 4 and 5.

I am not looking forward to the day one of them get their heart broken. But the innocence is adorable.

1/27/11, 11:26 AM  
Blogger Kevin Kelton said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1/27/11, 11:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe a better lesson would have been to appreciate boys for who they are, not for the goodies they may be able to give/promise you. But then, what do I know - I can't make a 3-pointer, either.
-Kevin

1/27/11, 11:46 AM  
Blogger Issa said...

She's adorable.

Young love. All innocent and without much issues. Love it.

1/27/11, 11:56 AM  
Blogger Mom101 said...

Good advice Kevin, appreciate the man's pov. If I had chosen a guy for what he could buy me...well. Yeah. I didn't. (Although he did give me a candy cane at Christmas, come to think of it.)

1/27/11, 12:06 PM  
Blogger Danielle-Marie said...

He helps her with her coat? Oh my GOD little boys are so much sweeter than grown men!

1/27/11, 12:49 PM  
Blogger tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

I had my first love at age 6. I still remember little Scott. Ahhh... His page boy haircut! Swoon!

It's so completely natural. My own daughter is madly in love with Justin Bieber (or Bybr as she spells it) at age 5 and she doesn't even LISTEN to or watch him! It's crazy.

1/27/11, 12:55 PM  
Blogger Randi Skaggs said...

The way boys love at five isn't all that different from the way they love at 35, is it?

1/27/11, 6:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My kid announced that she had her first boyfriend when she was 4, and that they were trying kissing.

It really throws you for a loop, is all I'll say.

1/27/11, 7:18 PM  
Blogger Stephanie in Suburbia said...

Too precious! And he helps her off with her coat, that's pretty advanced chivalry, even if he doesn't live up to his sweet promises (and, really, what dude does).

1/27/11, 10:16 PM  
Anonymous Doll Clothes Gal Pal said...

Aww this is so cute!

1/28/11, 5:49 AM  
Anonymous 6512 and growing said...

*smiling*

1/28/11, 8:17 AM  
Anonymous Paula/adhocmom said...

I think if he brings in the candy cane (it totally has to be stale by now) she should be all "seriously, where is MY CUPCAKE." Did I really just write that?

1/28/11, 8:41 AM  
Blogger My Kids' Mom said...

I'm amazed at how many of the mom's of boys have seen this with their sons. I'd finally decided that it was all one sided and the girls getting their hearts broken are getting them broken by boys who have no clue that there was a heart on the line. My boys, 6 & 9 are in the clueless category. I keep prodding to see if they've noticed that classes have girls in them too, but not yet. Yet, someday I suspect some sweet girl will get their heart broken by one of my sons. And he won't know he did it.

1/28/11, 1:52 PM  
Blogger Jessica {Team Rasler} said...

Laughed out loud at the last sentence. Guess I better teach my son (2.5 y.o) to figure out his own coat so he can help the ladies in a few years. Or wait a minute... I'm really not ready for that.

1/28/11, 2:12 PM  
Anonymous Janice Hill said...

Hilarious, hilarious!

Thank you so much for sharing, I could not contain my laughter after reading the last line :)

I can't even remember when I was 5.

1/28/11, 3:41 PM  
Blogger mannahattamamma.com said...

here's the difference between girls and boys (as if we needed this information): Caleb is in 1st grade. He tells me that his friend Luc has a girlfriend. I say, how do you know? he shrugs, says "I don't know, but that's what Miranda said. So it must be true." I ask "what does it mean to have a girlfriend?" Another shrug: "I have NO IDEA, mommy. What's for snack?"

1/28/11, 4:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh my. Suddenly I'm thrilled to have a boy instead of a girl. I'm not ready for this drama or broken hearts. I'll take clueless over lovestruck any day. And to make matters worse, my boy is gorgeous. (And yes, I know how vain that sounds) I can hear the phone ringing and incoming texts already.

1/28/11, 5:49 PM  
Blogger The Mommy Therapy said...

It's official,my children are going to be home schooled now...or perhaps sent to schools which only have their own gender in attendance. I am not ready for romance in any form or fashion anytime soon.

1/28/11, 10:17 PM  
Blogger Jack Steiner said...

I told my 6.5 year-old that there is a simple rule for the boys. If they can't defeat daddy in single combat they cannot date her.

She told me to stop being so silly and I told her that I want them to refer to me as the Angel of Death.

Damn boys, I know how they think, because...I am one.

Oy, I hope to be granted clemency. I need about 20 years before I am ready for this.

1/29/11, 4:50 PM  
Anonymous AmyeToTheRescue said...

Aaaand it isn't at all about what they give you, unless it's their heart... And keeping their promises.

1/29/11, 5:38 PM  
Anonymous Jodi said...

Oh no! Her first lesson in integrity-- being true to ones word. I love that you are so honest with her. A real inspiration.

Jodi

1/31/11, 9:43 PM  
Anonymous Unplanned Cooking said...

So cute! Our son, who is also 5, got his first love note from a girl this week. And I'm so worried she's going to break his heart :).

2/1/11, 12:40 PM  
Blogger Elisa @ Crazy, Amazing Life said...

ah, isn't it great to have girls? I wish my 11 year old was that forthcoming about her crushes. Instead you know what she told me last week? "Mom, stop asking. I have a right to my privacy."
Party pooper.

2/10/11, 2:11 AM  

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