Crush

Oh, boy. Katie has experience that says she is appealing. Her Daddy, Grandad, and Papa have all told her in word and deed that she is lovely and loveable. She is comfortable in her own skin, and relatively pleased with the reflection in her mirror. (That's certainly rare enough for females of any age, much less the awkward age characterized by experimental hairdos, orthodontia, and general gawkiness!) She has begun to experiment a bit with her appearance and is attempting to develop an idea of what she thinks about boys.

We have, for example, Zach who lives down the street. Recently Katie discovered that Zach is not immune to her manipulative wiles. When Zach failed to sign on to participate in the exhibition square dance group Katie was in, she agreed to be Will's partner. Zach belatedly signed on to be in Katies group. Katie informed us with pleasure that "Zach's a little jealous because I am dancing with Will!" Eh? What happened to the Zach of "We're just friends."? We like Zach, and we were planning on him being the "just friends" boy who kept other boys away. Now, I am a bit more wary of young Zach. Jealousy does not sound like the response of someone who is interested in being "just friends".

Inevitably there is a first crush. I am referring to the somewhat obsessive interest in someone utterly unobtainable. I suspect Katie has fallen under the spell of the big brother of one of her friends. Don and I have both noted that Katie is quoting him on a regular basis. She is unusually aware of his whereabouts in group settings. As first crushes go, he'll do. He's a Christian, a musician, and he hails from a family we admire. More importantly, Katie only appears to register on his radar as one of his little sister's friends. That garners her a nod or "Hello" that will continue to tell her she is worthy of notice. She's over-the-moon, he's oblivious, and I'm rolling my eyes.