Will You Go Out With Me? |_| Yes |_| No

Why do I feel the need to over explain everything?  The other day, my daughter and I were watching television.  A movie came on and we stopped flipping channels to watch.  It wasn’t a bad movie, but in a certain part the husband and wife started kissing and getting comfortable on the bed – fully clothed.  Suddenly I got really uncomfortable with the situation.  Instead of turning channels, I thought I should render an explanation to my 3 year old on what was going on.  After all, normal 3 year olds, I’m sure, ask questions all the time.  And she’s smart enough to understand what is going on around her.  Besides, if I would have turned the channel I didn’t want her to think it was bad necessarily for a husband and wife to do that.  Anyway…what a time I had!  “Um, now they are kissing.  But not the way you kiss mommy and daddy.  They are kissing the way daddys and mommys kiss, which is different…uh…than other kisses.  Sometimes when mommys and daddys really love each other, um…they kiss like that.  But it’s not the same kind of love that we have – you and I…or you and daddy or instance.  *sigh*  You see…mommy and daddys...they have a different relationship with each other than with their babies.  Kissing, hugging, and loving each other…well…its different…”  Whew…I should have just changed the stupid channel.  The entire conversation, she’s looking at me with this “I couldn’t care less” look.  Honestly she was probably just thinking to herself, “I don’t know what in the world mommy is talking about, but I hope she didn’t feel that I just peed on her.  I want a snack.  Maybe some crackers.  Yes, crackers will do just fine.”

I’m really not entirely sure when it’s appropriate to have “the talk” with your kids anyway.  Is it when their in junior high?  High school?  When do they start thinking with their hormones anyway?  I don’t know if I should judge it based on my experience.  Boys had cooties until pretty much my junior year of high school.  I stopped playing with Barbie dolls a year earlier.  When other little girls were playing the “who do you like?” game, I was perfecting my double-dutch jump rope technique.  When they were passing notes to a boy in class asking them “Will you go out with me?” (you know, the ones with the “yes/no” boxes you had to check), I was drawing hearts and puppies in my notebook.  I remember distinctly the first time I got one of those notes in my desk.  It was in 4^th grade.  The note was, as I said, one of those “check the box” ones.  Honestly, I was so grossed out by the boy who sent it to me, I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit when he waved at me from across the room after he realized I got it.  At recess, I tried to avoid him and hid out in the tower of tires.  His best friend finally cornered me after the bell rang to tell me my time was up to answer  *shudder*  I didn’t know how other girls actually liked this part of our species!  I don’t really remember how I phrased the concept of “not in a million trillion years”, but they got the point and never talked to me again – bonus!