Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

I have always thought that my first kiss happened in France, the summer after eighth grade, with my host family’s cute neighbor, Yannick. A recent look through my elementary school diary let me know otherwise: apparently I “kisst” my own neighbor, Justin, at the ripe old age of eight. I don’t know if my parents knew about the kiss. If they did, they probably weren’t too concerned. I doubt the kiss elicited much passion since I don’t even remember it and as for Justin, he started dressing in his mother's clothing and never showed any interest in kissing a girl again.

So why am I talking about first kisses all of a sudden? The other night, Evie announced to me that at lunch that day she had leaned across the table and kissed her friend Ehden. She paused a minute and then announced, almost defiantly, “On the lips!” She waited for my reaction. I thought to myself, play this one cool, but in my head I was thinking, WHAT? Seriously? I mean you leaned across the table? In front of everyone? It’s such a bold and impulsive move for Evie, I couldn’t believe it. Later, the story ran its obvious course. In tears, Evie told me how the boys in her class had teased them and told them they were going to get married and have babies and sang all the typical songs. I felt genuine sympathy for her, but to be honest, I also had to cover my smile. It’s just so perfectly, wonderfully typical - the rights of passage of childhood - that I sort of love that she is experiencing it.

This seems to be boy week all over because yesterday I was looking for Lucy on the playground at school and her teacher said, “Just look for the boys. She loves the boys…and they love her!” Of course Lucy loves the boys. They are wild and there’s nothing that she loves better than finding someone to be wild with her. Today, I watched as she chased her friend Max all across the playground after school. Another mom told me that the word on the street (the pre-K street, which probably looks something like Sesame Street) is that Lucy and Max are getting married. So there you have it - according to their classmates, both girls are accounted for already.

Two months ago Evie turned seven and tomorrow Lucy turns five. Clearly, they aren’t getting married for years to come and they are both a long way from their first real kiss - the one that they’ll rush home to tell their friends about, the one they’ll remember. But all of a sudden they are also a long way away from being infants or toddlers - or rather, it has happened slowly, but it feels all of a sudden to me. They are fully immersed in childhood and, while I miss their baby days, I love watching them embrace this new and wonderful stage of life.