Oh boy.

During first grade we heard a lot about Cecilia's friend Liam, and they developed quite the friendship over the course of the school year. In fact, the first classmate that she wanted to schedule a play date with was Liam, so I finally got in touch with his mom and we got something on the calendar. When I told Cecilia, she had questions about the details, such as the time of his arrival and if she could wear her new blue party dress (no). Her most recent question was whether or not she'd have time to shower after swimming lessons so that she wouldn't smell like "cor-leen" when he arrived. I know it's harmless -- she's not yet 7 after all -- but it still makes me nervous about things to come. Someday there will be boys that she likes (even like likes!), and there will be boys who don't like her back. It breaks my heart to imagine her inevitable heartbreaks, and Dadam just chuckled at me last night when I suggested I would go around breaking knee-caps of boys who were unkind to my daughter. But he's right. She's the star of her own life, she is her own person, and she has to go through all those ups and downs just like everybody else.

Liam is coming for a play date tomorrow. Little does he know I'll be watching him like a hawk.