The "Hims" and "Hers" that come and go
Boy/girl stuff starts early. In elementary school, your child comes home and announces dramatically, "Sasha/Sean tried to kiss me — eeww!" You're appropriately sympathetic and try not to laugh until your kid's in bed.
In junior high, your child starts to mention a "friend," frequently but in an elaborately offhand way: "Yum — lasagna. My friend Joe totally loves lasagna," or "My friend Jasmine doesn't eat meat — does this lasagna have meat?" You try to look as if you, too, care deeply about Joe's/Jasmine's food preferences, and laugh only when your kid's in bed.
By high school, your children have clearly deked off for a partial lobotomy without your permission. They zombie around, hugging their emotional lives like they used to hug their beloved blankie/teddy/you. In my experience, boys tend to be tight-lipped about everything, especially romance. Girls can be equally secretive, but they can also turn into hyperactive idiots ("Hussain is SOOO funny! He said Mrs. Fitzer is always having fits — ha ha ha").
At this point, you're fretting about what your kids are doing and with whom. Laughter isn't an option. And besides, they go to bed much later than you.
Once your children reach their early 20s, the dynamics change yet again. For my part, I suddenly found myself (to my great delight) having dinner with one of my stepdaughters and her current "Him." It was the first of many jolly get-togethers with various "Hims." Because inevitably, "Hims" (and "Hers") come and go. Sometimes this is a good thing (whew, she finally dumped what's-his-name, the one with the tattoos and tongue stud) but sometimes, as a parent, I found the changing-of-the-guard disconcerting. Young men I'd spent serious family time with simply vanished into thin air.
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