She'd disown me if she knew I was putting this in writing. But it is a chapter in our lives, and, although the secondary character will likely change, one day this chapter will be a book all on its own, so it simply must be recorded.

My daughter has her first crush. The boys were teasing her with a sign that said, "Alex loves                    ". I told them to stop. Then I started in with a little teasing of my own until she actually admitted it to me. Then I stopped because you just don't tease a girl about it if it's really true. Plus, I am a little bit of an expert on schoolgirl crushes. Thankfully, she's waited until the ripe old age of 8. I had my first crush around 6 years of age.

So we had a special moment. I disclosed the name a couple of the many names of my first crushes, and we giggled a little about that. Then I said, "You know, I really like [his] parents. Maybe I should invite the family over for dinner some time."

"No! You don't have to do that!" she said emphatically.

Good. She passed the test. This means she's still just at the "take a quick peek at him during Sunday School" stage...the stage where I want her to stay for a really, really, really, really, really, really long time.