Keenan & the "Friend-Girl"

So, my oldest will be 14 in about 2 weeks. Ever since he started Jr High 2 years ago, the phone started ringing off the hook. Not my friends, not my family, not even solicitors. Who was on the other end? None other than, you guessed it - girls! And they were calling for my son! He seemed so young - not ready for all of this. I couldn't believe it was finally happening. Then, I thought back to my own early teen years and realized he was just the right age for all of this to begin.

The phone used to ring for me at my house, and it was usually boys. In fact, it rang so much, that my Dad started to answer "Hello! Emma's House!" Pretty clever, especially since we didn't have Caller I.D. back in "those days".

Anyway, this year he has had one girl in particular call. She invites him to stuff all the time. And trying not to overreact, I usually let him go. He even went to her family's Easter egg hunt party. The girl's mother told me the whole family just loves him because he is not shy around them and joins in the fun, as if he is one of their own.

The more he started hanging out with this girl, I started to wonder about the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I really want him to just be friends with girls at this point, and not have girlfriends. On the other hand, I don't want to be so "old-fashioned" about it as my parents were. I tried talking to him about it. (Yeah, that didn't make him uncomfortable in the least bit!) He finally assured me that they are "just friends" who happen to talk on the phone alot, IM alot, play XBox Live together, dance together at dances and hang out at each other's houses. Does that sound like "just friends" to you? I then tried to talk to him about what age it's appropriate to start holding hands and kissing, etc. His reply? "Gee Mom. That's pretty funny coming from you, considering some of the stories I've heard about you from your sisters and friends."

He got me on that one. As a teen-ager, I was a make-out queen. I just didn't think he knew about it. I was hoping to live in denial about that until he was at least an adult; just like I didn't find out about my mom being a kissing-queen until I was an adult (yuck!). At any rate, I told him to learn from my "mistakes" and not make as many of his own. He then told me not to worry - that this girl is not his "Girlfriend". I asked him how he does refer to her. He simply stated, "My Friend-Girl".

Now the "Friend-Girl" texts me and chats with me! Can you believe it? I like her and she's cute, and I trust the both of them. Of course, Keenan cannot possibly see why anyone his age would want to text his mom! Even more so, he cannot believe that someone "my age" texts as often as I do or that I even know how to text. I told him that perhaps I am a bit "cooler" than he gives me credit for.

"If that's what you have to tell yourself," he replied.

So that's it. A new stage in my life. I must say this whole teenage boy/girl thing has me a little anxious. I guess it could be worse. She could have a blue Mohawk, sporting army fatigues a halter-top and tattoos. This girl still wears Laura Ingalls Wilder braids half the time - whew! Find joy in the little things, right?