Things were already sliding down hill but the daisies just did me in. I think one of the hardest parts of being a mom to boys is knowing that one day, another girl with replace you as the most important girl in his life. Bobby and Hunter are my stepsons so I already accept that their moms beat me out of that top place. With Richie however, it seemed like he was going to be my boy for a very long time. I was content to cuddle with him infront of the tv as often as possible. Neither he nor Hunter seemed particularly interested in girls to begin with, so I figured I was safe for now.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of girls chasing after my boys. Hunter learned just this week what happens when a girl has your cellphone number. He's gotten more texts from a certain set of twin sisters than everyone else combined. Still, he pretty much ignores the texts and the girls. He told me himself girls were just too weird and I loved that! Richie had the same "girlfriend" from Kindergarten to third grade when they just didn't see much of each other at school and kind of shrugged off the giggles that come with school yard crushes. I asked him once if it bothered him and he simply told me, "I don't care, she's just a girl." YAY!!
Lately though, he'd been talking about one little girl a lot. I've known for more than a year that she has a crush on Richie. She comes to see him play football and basketball and seeks him out any time they're in even remotely the same area. If she sees me anywhere in town her first question is always, "where's Richie?" So, hearing about Savannah didn't really register with me because he's talked about her off and on for a year but in general it was just about something she said to him or about him. Her grandfather is Richie's football coach so, the thought of having the coach's granddaughter as his "girlfriend" wasn't one he was too thrilled with. That was just fine with me.
However, Savannah's mom asked for advice on planning her birthday party and I agreed to sit and talk with her. She and her sister are very sweet little girls and I adore them both. So, we went over to their house one afternoon so the kids could play and mom and I could discuss party plans. After leaving Richie started telling me all the things he likes about Savannah. Mostly, it was that she's a tomboy which means she knows sports and plays the same games he likes to play. This caught me off guard so I asked him if he really liked her or if he just thought she was a friend. When he turned beet red, I knew I was done for.
After making me promise not to tell her or her mother, Richie told me he really likes her but that some of the other boys pick on him about it. We talked about why that was and he realized they were just jealous. This made Richie decide it was okay to tell everyone that Savannah was his "girlfriend." Oh, geeze, what do I do now?
Last Friday was Savannah's birthday party and Richie paced the floor waiting until it was time to go. He checked and rechecked her present a dozen times to make sure it was just right. Nevermind that the party was for her sister also, that didn't matter to him. He was plenty happy with letting me handle Carlie's present as long as he got to take care of Savannah's. During the party, her mother came up to me to let me know she'd busted them for kissing...for real?!? I'm way too young for this to start already! When I asked Richie he looked right at me and declared "she kissed me, she kissed me, I swear mom, I was just standing there." I kind of chuckled to myself in relief and walked away. They spent the rest of the party watching a movie while she snuggled up beside him on the couch. I couldn't help but pout a little, that was my spot. Still, when we left he told me he still thought she was weird. Hooray, my boy is still in there somewhere!
Monday came and brought Savannah's actual birthday. He called to talk to her on the phone and she wasn't home so he handed off the phone to me. While we talked, her mom mentioned that Savannah had been disappointed in not getting flowers from her uncle like her sister did. I didn't realize Richie was listening to our conversation until he looked at me and said, "mom, how much are flowers?" He'd decided that if Savannah wanted flowers, he was going to get her flowers. So, we headed to the store to pick some up and deliver them to her grandparents' house. After 10 minutes of debate, he picked a bouquet of Gerber Daisies that had been colored many bright colors. He refused every other bouquet because they all had something pink in them and as he pointed out, Savannah doesn't like pink. My Lord, he'd been paying a lot of attention!
When we pulled into the driveway to deliver them, he shook his head and told me we were at the wrong house. I told him she was there with her Grandfather. For a moment he didn't speak, his eyes got really big and his mouth dropped open. He then turned and shoved the flowers at me saying, "you take 'em!" I told him he needed to take her the flowers because they were from him and not me. After adjusting to the fact that his coach was in that house and would see him bringing in flowers, he agreed to take them to her. He stood beside me as I knocked on the door. Savannah came to the door and jerked it open when she saw that it was us on the porch. She flung herself at Richie, wrapping him in a hug. He hugged her back and when she pulled away, he sheepishly handed her the flowers. She took one look and told him he'd just given her the best birthday present ever. The look on his face said it all. He's not my little boy anymore, he's her "boyfriend" and all it took were some crazy daisies.
No comments:
Post a Comment