Insights From a Superhero's Mom

After walking (no running, as he almost didn’t make it) my four-year-old from the park playground to the bathroom and back, I witnessed my fifth grade son, Kalel, get hit in the head with an acorn.  No, the acorn didn’t fall from the sky like in the Chicken Little story (although I wish it had).  Instead, it was thrown at him by a girl about his age.  “I hate you,” she said to him as she chucked the acorn at his head and stomped away angrily.  I watched as my son just shrugged off her actions.  The whole thing played out like a scene from one of those love movies (I can’t think of which one right now) where this girl slaps the jerk who’s just broken her heart before she leaves the room, and as much as I wanted to believe it, I knew my son wasn’t all so innocent in this situation.

Now I don’t mean to make my son seem like a constant heart-breaker, heart-throb, or even a “player” for that matter.  In fact, he’s never had a girl that he has somewhat been interested in like him back this much.  This little girl has been chasing him for attention for the past couple days now.  Although she told my daughter that she liked him, she really hasn’t been mean, rude, or aggressive with romantic gestures, just wanting him to play with her and talk to her.  I had overheard her just earlier telling him, “Let’s go over to the swings.  I’ll race you.”  He had eagerly ran off with her towards the playground.  They played together happily, and every once in a while, stopped to sit down and talk, which I guess was how kids their age showed each other that they liked each other (Whew!  It could be worse).

Anyway, as the young love story goes, my younger boys began to take notice of this budding relationship, and as all little boys do, started teasing Kal.  “Kal’s got a girlfriend!  Kal’s got a girlfriend!”  they would relentlessly remind him.  I guess it got to the point where he started to blame her for the unwanted ragging.  He began to separate himself more from her, and finally told her that she was “an annoying brat,” which were about the harshest words he could think of.  That’s when she chucked the acorn at him.

Thus is the end to a premature love story, but like I keep telling Kal, they’ll be other girls, and he’ll hopefully be more mature and responsible when that time comes.