From Crush to Puppy Love

In the past few months I’ve written about the crush Sonya has developed for a boy in her class.  His name, if YOU have forgotten, is Joey.  I can’t forget.  She talks about him EVERY DAY.  The last time I talked about him on here, he wasn’t all the crazy about Sonya.  However, he seems to have changed his mind. 


 Earlier this week she told me about her music class.  She was standing in line next to Joey and he poked her.  Then she poked him back, then he poked her and when she tried to get him again, he ran.  Oh boy.  I do believe this is the beginning of flirtation.  Granted it’s on a 1^st grade level, but flirtation all the same.

Monday night was her school’s restaurant of the month night.  I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that here, but it’s basically a fundraiser for the school.  They pick a different restaurant every month, and then the families  from the school go there for dinner.  The restaurant then donates a portion of the nights proceeds toward the school.  The restaurants get a busy Monday night and us moms get a night off of cooking. Plus the school makes money.  It’s a winning situation all around.  Not quite Charlie Sheen winning, but hey we can't all be that great. Or insane.  Anyway, this past Monday night the restaurant was  a local chain here called Islands.  They have burgers and chicken sandwiches mostly.  It’s not the best restaurant, but it’s not terrible and the kids like it, so it works. 

After we ordered our food Sonya said,

“I wonder if Joey will be here?”

“Did he say he was coming?” I asked.

“I didn’t ask him,” she told me.

Toward the end of the meal she started talking about walking around the restaurant to go see if she could find some of her friends.   I told her she could go then if she wanted, but she chose to wait until we were all done and I had paid, so that we could all walk around together.  This is not a new thing.  We usually try to find her friend every month, but this time she was more anxious to do it.  Most of the time we see people on our way out since we go to eat so early. 

We started our restaurant tour.  At this point the it was very crowded and there wasn’t a table to be had.  Glad I go for those EBS!  (Early Bird Specials for those who don’t know.  At least we were in and out of there by 6:15.)

We saw her kindergarten teacher from last year and stopped to say hi to her and chat for a minute.  Then we continued on our friend quest.  It hadn't even occurred to me her REAL reason she had wanted to go look for her friends this time.  Then, when we were on our last aisle of booths, Sonya stopped dead in her tracks and was overcome with an enormous smile on her face.  Then she pointed in front of her and said quietly,

“There’s Joey.”

She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, and a gigantic smile on her face which was turning the deepest shade of red I’ve ever seen.  She later called it “slushy red”.  I told her to go say hi to him. She took a couple baby steps to the booth where he was sitting with both of his parents.  Then she quietly said,

“Hi Joey.”

Joey, who I originally thought had no interest in my daughter, also sported an enormous shit eating grin. Then he started to get a little wiggly in his seat, and said hi back.  His parents asked if she was in his class and who she was. He immediately answered back with a “yes” and “her name is Sonya”, still all smiley.  

His parents and I could clearly see what the shyness and smiles indicated.  It was obvious Sonya had a huge crush on their son and from what I could tell he liked her back.  We were all smiling ourselves at how incredibly adorable they both were. 

Sonya just continued to stand there and turn a few more shades of red, all the while with the lovesick grin glued to her face.  I tried to make a bit of small talk with the parents, but the wonder twins were behind us getting ready to wreak havoc on the nearby diners.  I decided that we needed to get out of there before they could make that happen.  After all, Sonya would see Joey at school the next day.  

We said our goodbyes and headed to the car.  For the next fifteen minutes in the car, Sonya gushed about Joey and how much she liked him.  She explained that she had been a little more shy because of his parents being there, and that she wasn't usually like that with  him at school.  Well, yeah! Parents always make things more uncomfortable!  It's our job! Then she told me about wanting to kiss him.  REALLY!?  AT SIX?  I guess so.  I’m sooooo not ready for this yet.  She even told me a little day dream she has about him.  I’m choosing not to disclose it here so as not to COMPLETELY destroy her confidence.  Don't worry, it's not anything crazy that a six year old should not be daydreaming about.

When I told my sister this story, she said

“I can’t believe she tells you all this!”

So for now, I will let her tell me everything she wants to about Joey and continue to listen and ask questions.  This is serious to her and I want her to know I treat it seriously too.  Well, except when I write about it here on the Internet.  I mean it is also silly and cute.  She doesn’t read this website though….yet.  I guess once she does, that’s when the hating me for 4 or 5 years will start.