Young love blooms over spring break
Love is in the air, and as a matter of fact, it was at my house
this past weekend.
It’s official. My son has a girlfriend.
This is kind of a tough concept for me to wrap my mind around.
It’s the first time this has actually happened, at least to one of
my children.
Young love blooms over spring break
Love is in the air, and as a matter of fact, it was at my house this past weekend.
It’s official. My son has a girlfriend.
This is kind of a tough concept for me to wrap my mind around. It’s the first time this has actually happened, at least to one of my children.
Ross has always had lots of friends who were girls, and there have always been plenty of girls around. But there was never one that seemed to be particularly special.
He dated a few of them, but the relationships never lasted beyond a few weeks, and seemed to be without drama or trauma. Even after he went away to college at UC Santa Cruz, there didn’t seem to be much going on in that department.
I was beginning to wonder if, at the advanced age of 19, there would ever be a girl in his life. And then Nichole came along.
She was his lab partner last summer in Chem 1A. They studied together a lot. But apparently nothing happened for a while, and it wasn’t until this past Christmas that I began to get a hint that maybe something was afoot.
During winter break, Ross spent a lot of time on the phone, late into the night. And then he began bringing her to family get-togethers. After the third such appearance, I figured it out.
They were an item.
Nichole is a nice girl, very cute, very tiny. Compared to most UC Santa Cruz students, she seems almost conservative – no piercings, no tattoos, no half-shaved head. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Ross came home for spring break, and as you might expect, he departed midweek to visit Nichole at her home in the Bay Area. Because she needed a ride back to school, he brought her back to our house this past Friday.
“Mom, is it okay if Nichole stays with us for a couple of days?” he asked.
What could I say? Of course it was okay.
Of course, there were sleeping arrangements to work out. Ross slept on the couch, and Nichole took over his room.
I didn’t see them a good portion of that time, since they would go out with friends until late o’clock, and then sleep until noon. During the times when they were awake and hanging around the house, there was a lot of tickling and giggling going on.
I mean, a lot. Seemed like hours on end.
They sat on the couch. Giggle, giggle. They stood in the kitchen. Giggle, giggle. They went outside. I could still hear the giggling.
It was extremely cute and somehow sort of annoying at the same time. But what could I say? “Stop that giggling!” Hmmm, don’t think so. Even if I said it, they wouldn’t stop.
I suppose I was just as bad at their age. So I tried to be understanding, think pleasant thoughts, and be happy for my son.
First loves are just another step on the grand and glorious path to true adulthood. Much as we want to keep our children with us forever, it’s not practical or even desirable. Part of growing up, especially at this age, is pairing off and finding out about the opposite sex.
Will there be other girlfriends on the path? Probably. As nice as Nichole is, they’ve both got a lot of growing up to do, and the changes that will come are not always conducive to a first love.
But for the moment, love is in the air. And they’re very cute together. And very giggly.
