First Love
Brendan’s girlfriend broke up with him yesterday. Keep in mind she denies ever being his girlfriend. In fact, he said she broke up with him because he “lied” about her being his girlfriend. Brendan is heartbroken and wants to get back together with her because, as he says, “she’s really pretty.”
This was the conversation Brendan and my wife had yesterday, after he got home from school, where he attends first grade. He had a really bad day, apparently. Lynn told him he should ask his grandpa for advice when he sees him at Christmas, and I concur. He certainly doesn’t want to ask me for advice; I am as clueless as ever on that subject.
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She broke up with him because he “lied” about being his girlfriend.
Classic. Simply classic.
Great story. My family would’ve freaked out, and I would’ve gotten punished, had I come home talking of a boyfriend at that age. I’m glad you guys are less punitive.
I hope poor Brendan’s taking it all in stride.
Comment by Heather — Wednesday, 12 December 2007 @ 1:24 pm
Just for the record, because I didn’t mention it earlier, her name is Tabitha. That name always makes me think of the little girl on “Bewitched.”
Brendan seems to be recovering from his broken heart, though from what he said I think he is going to try to make up with her. He has been talking for a couple weeks about this “Tabitha” he plays with on the playground, but this was the first time he called her his girlfriend. It cracked Lynn up.
Incidentally, my Mom would have beat me, too. I don’t think I ever told you the story about the time I bought a little girl that I liked a Christmas present. Another time perhaps.
Comment by greypilgrim — Wednesday, 12 December 2007 @ 1:32 pm
Oh no! What happened?
Comment by Heather — Thursday, 13 December 2007 @ 11:38 am
I’ll keep it brief: my Mom gave me five dollars to buy her and my Dad a present at a school fundraiser at Christmas, and I spent the money on earrings for a little girl I liked. Turned out a lot of other boys liked her, too, and so my gift went unnoticed among all the others. When I got home from school that day, my Mom asked me where the presents were. I told her the truth about what I had done, and she whipped me with a belt and then grounded me. To this day I am still not sure if she was angry because I wasted the five dollars, or because I was interested in this little girl. That experience made me wary about revealing any interest in girls to my Mom, though. And it probably contributed to the difficulty I had asking girls out as a teenager. Because if I asked them out, I’d have to tell my Mom I was going on a date, wouldn’t I?
Comment by greypilgrim — Thursday, 13 December 2007 @ 11:58 am
Oh man, that’s horrible. At the very least your mom could’ve clarified what the whipping was for.
My parents were really knee-jerk about guys, too. I never got whipped (though it was always a threat. My siblings all got whipped. I guess I was a suckup) but all the talk about shaming the name and such gave me the message right quick: Don’t get anywhere near guys. Except the time when I did have a boyfriend in sixth grade, which drew ridicule from my dad for months afterward (the butt of jokes at family gatherings because someone wanted to ask me out, etc). After he forbade me from seeing him.
Yeah. Reveal any interest at your own risk. I see where you’re coming from.
Comment by Heather — Thursday, 13 December 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Although I got a laugh out of Brendan’s love affair, I want to take him seriously too. I don’t want him to feel like he has anything to be ashamed of. God knows most people grow up with enough sexual hangups to last them a lifetime of therapy sessions. He doesn’t need me adding to his future therapy bill.
I could write whole novels about my childhood in regards to youthful sexuality. In fact at one time I actually intended to do so. Most people don’t even want to admit that their six year old is a sexual being, however. Even Lynn acted surprised that Brendan already knows the word Fuck, and no, he didn’t learn it from us; he learned it from a boy at school. I reminded her that I first heard the word in 1st grade from a boy named Mikey Bright who cruelly told me to go home and ask my Mom what it meant. Got a whuppin’ for that, too.
Comment by greypilgrim — Thursday, 13 December 2007 @ 1:26 pm
I’m glad you did take him seriously, but it is hysterical, anyway.
Kids know a lot more than we think we do. I knew a lot more about sex (some of it true, some of it not) than I should’ve by the time I was 6. Mostly thanks to trailer park kids who probably knew about it due to abuse.
Comment by Mel B. — Friday, 14 December 2007 @ 2:01 pm
Funny in a painful kind of way because that’s precisely the sort of thing that really does hit a kid hard. Glad he’s moving on, though. Never understood the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing at such a young age myself. Heck, I never even went on a date until college.
Comment by Dawn — Sunday, 16 December 2007 @ 10:42 pm