boyfriend

i worry a lot about my kids.  i worry if they don't eat enough, sleep enough, have fun enough.  about why the two of them argue a lot.  i worry about what kind of person they will grow up into.  about what they will wear to that next children's party.  about their tuition fees for the next school year.    that the little big man's teeth are getting a little yellowish.  i worry about his skin and her height and her hair and his mannerisms and his allergic rhinities and her urinary tract infection.  and what the heck is that bruise doing on the little girl's knee again?  and how in the world did the little big man lose that last tournament again?!

a mom i know is worried about her 3 kids.  she is a full time employee while her husband who supposedly works too cannot support her financially and comes only to visit her and her kids at least once every two weeks.  she knows he has women (yes, plural) but probably denies it to everyone and to herself.  when she goes to work, she sometimes leaves her eldest (if he's not in school) at a relative's house, her second with the nanny at home and her youngest with another relative.  she has loans everywhere to make ends meet.  recently, she's been informed that she has to evacuate her apartment for lack in payments.  she gets by with the help of relatives but at night she's usually on her own.

oftentimes, i feel i'm the most burdened mom in the world.  only to realize what a great gift i have in my husband and children.  we are not always ok.  we got problems here and there.  but we got one another to keep us strong and secure and looking forward to the future.

just last weekend, the little girl, who is now 5 years old whispered to me as she watched a justin bieber video, mommy, i want to have a boyfriend.

i say calmly, ok, but when you're 18.

and she goes, how about when i'm 14?


and i of course say, no, 18.


to which she contested, but justin is only 16. so can i have a boyfriend when i'm 16?


i stood firm. 18, sweetie. when you're 18.

i'm not worried at all.  well, except for her crushes and lady gaga.