Turn the other cheek

Young love ... sigh.

The transition from girl-hater to girl-lover was a tough one for me. I suppose it is for most kids, really. Truth be told, I always liked girls. The problem was just that my peers all acted like they didn't, so I pretended to dislike them too. Every crush I ever had is engraved in my mind and I can remember the smallest of events like they were yesterday. Like when Stephanie giggled at my joke in (4th?) grade. When Patricia chased me around the 5th grade classroom and I pretended to be afraid of getting caught by her. Or when, in 7th grade, I spent the weekend at a family camp where Karen and I were the only teens and we collected maple sap, played "horse" and (swoon) square danced. Of course, I can't forget my 6th grade crush, Christine, who went on to be my 9th grade girlfriend and much later my wife (dawww!)

Reluctantly, back to the present. Parents, it's tempting to tease your sons and daughters about their little "romances" but try to remember the all the conflicting, confusing, confounding emotions that you went through and give your kids a break once in a while.

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