Aug. 31, 2006 - Girls........ Girls....... Girls......
I guess as the mother of sons I should have been spending the past 15.5 years preparing myself for the inevitable time in my boys lives where girls would play a dominant role.

But I didn't.

I have sons. I have spent 12-15 years trying to MAKE them shower daily, brush their teeth on purpose and wear clean clothes most of the time.

And then came the girls.

12 year old reaction to girls--
daily showers
deodorant without a reminder
grew his hair out into a cool new long (read : mom hates it) style
needed specific brush and shampoo to care for said hairstyle
cares about type and style of clothing and even prefers it to be clean
rolls eyes and acts embarrassed when girls are mentioned

Ok. so I got used to those, afterall this is my second 12 year old. I knew they were coming. But then they got me. The reaction to girls stays the same for a while. They talk about them with their friends. They meet and chat with lots of them. They continue to care about personal habits. I was lulled into the belief that this wasn't that bad, in fact, it was easy. UNTIL....

The 15 year old gets .....A Girlfriend.

Yup. A real live, honest to goodnes, he called her dad and asked to date her Girlfriend. A "can she come over for dinner", "can we go skating", on the phone with her all the time Girlfriend.

Ok... so the idea took a few weeks to get used to, but I did. Not so bad, so what he has a girlfriend. She's nice, he's nice. They chat, they go skating, they talk on the phone.... UNTIL....

She comes over for dinner and to watch movies. Simple enough. I cook, we eat, she talks nicely, she helps clean up.... Not so bad. UNTIL...

I walk past my family room on the way to the kitchen for a drink and see my 15 year old son KISSING a GIRL.

NO WAY I COULD HAVE HAD TIME TO PREPARE FOR THIS....

So now all of those hypothetical discussions I had with my friends about what we would teach our kids about girls and sex and relationships start to come into play. Now I get worry about whether she will break his heart, or he will break hers. Will they make sound decisions about their relationship? Does he know what is right and how to treat a girl better than she expects?

It all seems so unreal to me. I am having discussions with my son about birth control and abstinence and parenting and responsibility and respect and kindness and it all seems so grown up.
Why didn't I prepare myself for this a little more???