Young Love

When my youngest was three years old, she met the man she was going to marry. He was in her preschool class, and the way he colored with crayons caused her to lose her heart. She would proclaim frequently that Sean was the boy she was going to marry. He apparently agreed with this plan, and told his family the search was over for his future wife.

When Sean invited my daughter to his fourth birthday, she was thrilled. I, as the future mother of the bride, was nervous about my child meeting her future in-laws. After all, their opinion could seriously shape her future. What if she said something embarrassing- knowing my daughter, this was not a stretch. What if she smeared frosting all over her face- also not a stretch. Either way, I wished her lots of fun as I dropped her off, and went to do some shopping before picking her up again. Sean's mother met me at the door. With a story.

At some point in the party, my daughter needed to use the bathroom. She asked Sean's mother where it was located, and she was pointed down the hallway to the left. She wasn't in there long. She quickly came running out, found Sean's mother and said, "The water's blue!" We don't put blue toilet treatments into our water at our house, so this was a new experience. Sean's mother explained that it was fine, and she could still go to the bathroom.

My daughter went back into the bathroom, but after a few minutes, she came running out of the bathroom, worried. She ran to Sean's mother again, and said frantically, "The water just turned GREEN!" Trying not to laugh, Sean's mother explained that it was okay, and she could go ahead and flush.

The rest of the party went without incident, thankfully. So much for impressing the in-laws, but I suppose you didn't HAVE to have a great relationship with your husband's parents.

When my daughter started kindergarten, Sean no longer attended the same school she did. After a month of kindergarten, she announced that she didn't love Sean anymore and that her other preschool friend Rachel could have him. She has fallen for a few other boys in her time, but with the wisdom of a fourth grader, she plans to wait before getting serious about marriage.

I just hope when the day comes that she REALLY meets her future in-laws, she does a much better job of impressing them.