45

So Jack has his first girlfriend. So far, I've taken it pretty well.

She's super cute and loves my kid. They follow each other around and seem to almost speak their own baby language. I think Jack may talk more than she does but apparently they're inseparable from the moment Jack arrives for lunch until I pick him up.

Often times when Husband drops him off, she's waiting by the fence on the parking lot or running to the doorway of his classroom yelling and waving for "Ack!!" As soon as I walk in, she runs up to me to give me a pat or to yell, "Ack's Mama, Ack's Mama!" Yesterday, she showed me her boo-boo. But the thing that strikes me most about this budding relationship is the fact that neither child seems to notice they look nothing alike. She's a gorgeous African American child with "pretty hair" as Jack says. He's the whitest-looking white kid with screaming blond hair and flashy blue eyes.

It's proof that racism is learned.

Together they have this friendship that grows more and more each day. Jack picks up her colorful barrettes when they fall out of her braids and makes funny faces at her when she cries. She holds his hand when they go outside and patiently lets him play Lion King. She holds the best riding toys for him on the playground. They make a great pair. And if you ask him about her, all he'll say is, "She's pretty" and smile. I'll ask him if he played with her and he'll say "Yes, she's pretty" and smile. I will ask him if he wants to go to school and he'll cheerily call out her name.

It's not like my kid likes all of his classmates at the center -- he doesn't. He has no tolerance for the one kid who never participates and is always getting into trouble. He yells at him as much as any of the teachers. I've seen it -- he's a big of a narc really. He has no tolerance for the dirty kid. You know the kid, everyone grew up with one. It never fails, that kid is always dirty with a weird ring around his mouth. Plus, he's a mush mouth. I have seen him talk to Jack, Jack just kinda stare at him for a second and walk away. And then there's the cry baby. Jack don't play that. That kid is his least favorite of all. Anyone who knows me can attest I am the same way with people who I don't click with... my theory? Why waste your time?

I know Jack likes her to the core. He doesn't notice that she looks different than he does. He just notices that she speaks audibly. She's easy to play with, and she's cute. I hope he holds onto that. As adults, we fall into our own "comfort zones" of like people. Most often than not that means being around people who look like us. For Jack it's still simple. He plays with the person he likes most. And besides, he's always liked pretty girls.