Young love

Do you know how early kids start playing "boyfriend/girlfriend"?  Apparently Kindergarten.  KINDERGARTEN!?!  Am I the only one shocked by this?  I mean seriously, I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was in 7th grade and even that was limited to holding hands, talking on the phone and giggling at each other across the room.  My first kiss didn't come until my freshman year in college.  I guess I was living in denial to think that the 3 Princesses would follow in my royal footsteps.

So my big jolt back to reality came last night as the 3 Princesses were at a birthday party for some close friends.  N. just turned 6 a couple of days ago and his sister C. turns 4 just before Christmas.  The party was at one of those party places filled with ball pits, bounce houses and activity areas that rival McDonald's biggest playground.  Those places give me so much anxiety.  I'm not sure why, I guess I fear one of the Princesses will get stuck way up high in a tube and since Your Majesty is all of 5 ft. tall and about the size of some of the kids, I'd get the lucky job of going in after them.  Or maybe I'm worried one of them will fall and get hurt while bouncing around a bounce house.  (Although true to her klutzy self, Princess 1 got a nice goose egg on her forehead simply by running into a table in the eating area, which obviously could have happened in our own home.  So maybe my fears about those places should be redirected to fears about Princess 1 just not watching where she is going.  But anyway, I digress.)  

Many of the party guests were friends of N.'s from Kindergarten.  Although Princess 1 has not started school yet, we were familiar with a few of them.  As the party was progressing, the kids were gathered in the eating area to watch N. and C. open gifts.  Princesses 1 and 2 were only mildly interested as the majority of gifts were Transformers, Star Wars, Spiderman, etc  (Yes, even for C.  who is a self proclaimed NOT Princess!  God love her.  That girl knows what she likes!  You should have seen Princess 1 eye the discarded My Little Pony gift that was tossed to the side the second it was unwrapped!).  

As amusing as the whirlwind of wrapping paper flying was, what really caught my eye was the interactions between a little boy and girl that were standing in the crowd around N.  Both are in Kindergarten and are "friends".  They were attached at the hip from the moment they entered the party.  They sat next to each other for pizza and cake.  They are, as the girl's mom later informed me, are in a band together.  Although they've never played together, he's the drummer and she's the singer.  She even wrote a song for him which she debuted at the party.  Anyway, as they were standing side by side while N. was opening his gifts, the little girl kept trying to hold the boy's hand.  Over and over she kept reaching for it.  Sometimes she'd actually get a hold of it and hold it for a second, sometimes he'd pull away.  As I watched in amazement at this miniature version of love playing out before me, I could not believe the intimacy I was seeing between them.  At the age of SIX! Whispering to each other, having intense conversations that made them look like they should be about 28 and involved in a dramatic relationship.  I was just about to start really worrying about these two having such a close friendship at such a young age when I saw the girl again reach for her boy's hand.  In extreme annoyance and desperation he reproved her: "I need to pull my pants up!  I can't hold your hand!"  I stifled laughter as he did indeed hitch up his falling jeans that were a size too big in the waist.  And as they ran off to play once again I was relieved to see that they were in fact NOT 28 and that things like falling down pants usurped displays of affection.  I know I am SO in for it with 3 Princesses, but I DO hope that we can get through Kindergarten without hand holding.  Your Majesty is SO not ready for that.