She loves boys. I am not exaggerating here, she loves them. Actually, she loves the idea of dancing with them. I'm not exactly sure where she got this, maybe her favorite princesses always dance with their handsome prince. Maybe she has gotten a glimpse at a Teen Disney movie while I was busy doing something and forgot to change the channel after her favorite cartoon. Whatever it is, when she sees a boy she has a liking for she exclaims, "I want to take him to the royal ball!" Or, "When I grow up I am going to the dance with him!"
She's had what I used to refer to as "toddler crushes" on many people. Her teenage uncle's friend Alex has been a favorite for years now. (Seriously, since she was about a year old!) Then there was Riley, a family friend about 20 years old. And then it started getting worse; we would go through the drive-thru somewhere and the dorky looking, braces wearing (this is a BIG plus on the toddler scene) floppy dark-haired drive-thru "hunk" was added to the dance card. I have really gotten over being worried about this since I've repeatedly heard that it's normal for a lot of little girls, and NO, it does not mean we are in for trouble in the teen years so I don't need to start looking into convents and chastity belts! Then along came Superman...
We rented the new Superman movie a while ago and after much begging and pleading her Daddy let her watch it with him. She is really into the Incredibles and other super-heroes so we just thought she wanted to check out a "real" one- not a cartoon. Keep in mind this was weeks ago. Then when it was time to return the DVD she cried, I mean sobbed! She just kept saying, "But I LOVE him! Please can we keep him?" I thought she just meant the movie, so I promised we would rent it again another time. For the past few weeks she keeps asking me, "Is it time to rent Superman again?" "Not yet dear, maybe soon," is my standard Mommy reply.
Then she started saying things like, "If there are Ickies (monsters) out my window Superman will save me." I noticed that she replaced Daddy's name with Superman's in this reassurance to herself but I didn't think anything of it, he IS Superman after all. Then when we went to buy Valentines to give to her friends this week she had to have the Superman ones. I tried to coax her into getting her usual pick- Princesses, Dora, even Barbie for crying out loud- but, "NO WAY! I NEED SUPERMAN!" was her only response. Fine! Once we got home all she wanted to do was open the cards and look at him in the six assorted poses as well as on the poster that came in the box- Good Lord! "This is starting to get a little much," I start thinking. Then yesterday it really came to a head.
"I need Daddy to fix the TV so Superman can come out!" she says emphatically. I try to explain it to her, but it's like trying to reason with me- it just doesn't work! So we let it go. We had a really busy day and she didn't mention it again so I forget about it. Then this morning I'm giving Jordan a bath and she comes in to ask me if Daddy fixed the TV yet? I don't know Elle- you'll have to talk to Daddy about that one (hoping to get a little help from the big guy explaining the electronics to our now love-struck girl!) She goes in to wake up Dad and ask him her question and a few minutes later returned beaming!
"Daddy said he will fix it and then Superman will come out and be with me! Oh Mommy, I love him!!!"
"That's nice," I say- thinking she means her Daddy and wondering why the hell he would tell her that!
"And he loves me, Mommy. Superman and I are in love just like you and Daddy!"
"WHAT????" I thought you were talking about Daddy! Honey, you can't be in love with Superman. He is pretend. He's only on TV and you are JUST TOO YOUNG!!!"
"Well, I TOLD YOU Daddy is going to fix the TV so he can come out and be with me!"
"Oh honey, we need to talk to Daddy about this!"
So we go in and really wake Daddy up to hear that he has no idea what she's talking about and he must have been talking in his sleep. He hears all about her plans to be in love with Superman or whatever and not so gently tells her he's just pretend and can't come out of the TV for Christ's sake!
Heartbreak! I quickly whisper that he needs to be gentle on this one she's "in love" and so he tries to reason with her... "But Daddy, I love him!" And for the rest of the morning and now that I look back, she keeps repeating how much she loves Superman and that he loves her! Oh, Good Lord! Is this what we have to look forward to? I'm back to worrying about the teen years!
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