Monday Madness: On Love

Lately my nieces have been trying to grasp the idea of a boyfriend. One is 6 and one is 4 and both are very into the idea of love.

My younger niece, we'll call her O, had the following announcement for my sister the other day.

O: "hey, mom. I am on love; I am on love with young Fitz." obviously she didn't call him young Fitz, I just threw that name in to protect the innocent, and I do mean innocent because I happen to know the dopey 4 year old boy that has captured her fancy and I can vouch for the fact that it was not his intent. I do, however, like that she said on love. I think that on love almost describes the condition of love better than saying in love.

Her sister, whom we will call K, is the real romantic though; K spends a lot of her time thinking about love. For about a year little K has asked question about marriage, wondered how you pick the person you marry and why you can't just marry your dad or your best friend cousin. But, in the last few months she has changed her tune. She has started "swooning" her word choice, not mine over a boy. When asked once why she liked a particular boy she said, just like the teenager that she isn't, "It's hard to explain, mom." She has also been known to appreciate a boy with similar characteristics as her "I like that his hair is the same color as mine".

While babysitting once she said to me, unprompted, "You know why I like my boyfriend? I like the way he looks and I like the way he acts." When I tried to explain to her that she was far too young to have a boyfriend, she looked at me and said, "Oh, I didn't know. But, I already do."

It is so refreshing to see a couple that is really committed to one another.