Walking on sunshine

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 14, 2013

When I was in kindergarten, there was a little boy named Michael who liked me. He liked me so much that he followed me home one day. I didn’t like boys back then and wasn’t sure what to do with him. So, I told him to wait in the lobby and that I’d be right back. Instead, I went and hid in our apartment, hoping he’d go away.

When my older sister found out what I had done, she went and got him and invited him inside to play. I was furious with her.

Later, when my parents came home, they had a talk with me about how boys are people, too, and that I can’t treat them that way just because I don’t like them.

Thinking back on that day, I wonder what a five-year-old was doing walking to a classmate’s house (uninvited!) by himself. But, mostly, I remember being rude to a little boy who didn’t deserve it.

My son, on the other hand, is somewhat of a ladies’ man. When he was two years old, a 5-year-old neighbor announced that he was her boyfriend, because he was so cute. 🙂 (Now a savvy third grader, she has since renounced all such proclamations!)

Almost every day after kindergarten, he’ll ask if he can walk one of his classmates home. Whether by coincidence or not, the classmates have all been female. And as the moms carry their backbacks, they walk together and giggle over the latest scatological joke.

I wonder what it will be like in about 10 years when hormones have complicated friendships and best buds pine for and fight over each other.

Honestly, I’m dreading that day.

Like most little boys his age, he has said he wants to marry a variety of people, including his best friend (who he proposed to last year) and me. Of course, he doesn’t know any better at this point and will outgrow this phase where I’m his best girl.

But, for now, it’s nice to enjoy these care-free moments where girls are simply friends who he likes to walk home.

© 2013 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved