Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

It's pretty pathetic when your 5-year-old has a more active social life than her parents. (Of course, one could make the point that the 5-year-old is the reason that the parents have no social life, but I digress...)

Not only does she get invited to some sort of hideous children's party (the parties are hideous, not the kids, usually) at least once a month, but she also is already planning her marriage to the boy down the street while simultaneously "giving birth" to various stuffed animals regularly. (Another blog perhaps will go into the dangers of telling your children too much about childbirth too early.)

She first started looking for a husband when she was four years old, after becoming enamored with Michael Penn's "Seen the Doctor" music video. After I answered her questions about the video (you're never too young to learn about symbolism) she informed me that she wanted to marry Michael. I respectfully told her that not only was it too early to contemplate marriage, but he was already married. To which she replied, "Maybe his wife will die and I can marry him when I grow up." She's nothing if not determined.

Kindergarten brought a new love into her life - her classmate Jake. It's important to base a relationship on shared interests, and evidently what cemented their friendship was that they both think it's funny to say "Poopy" -- over and over again.

But as with all young love, there are barriers. Our families have both been so busy that the kids just had their first playdate of the summer on Friday. Two hours of frenzy later, as Jake's Mom was leading him out our front door, he shouted back to my daughter, "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

How sweet! (But I think his Mom needs to stop listening to B101!)