Ladies Man

Children grow at such amazing rates. You seem to have them pegged, life is going along at normal speed, then BAM...you are hit by the fact that your child has grown over night. Sometimes it is the fact that the shoes they wore yesterday are too tight or the pair of pants from last week are too short. My sign was a little less subtle. It was my introduction to The Ladies Man.

On Friday, the public school's version of Valentine's Day, I got to school early to enjoy Muffins for Mom with Sarah. As we were getting seated at our table, an adorable little boy from her class walks over to us. He is precious, sporting a new slicked-back haircut and an endless smile. Being a teacher in the school, which is borderline celebrity status at school functions, I was ready to lay on the 5th grade teacher charm; however, it soon became apparent that he was not there to talk to Mrs. Oliver.

His mother greets me and asks if it would be alright for her son to give Sarah a valentine. In my mind, I am thinking that she is new at this public school thing and doesn't realize that the valentines will be passed out in the children's boxes down in the K5 classroom. THEN, I see the gift bag that her son is holding. The next few minutes were a haze as I watched my daughter grow older by the minute.

This smiling, young Casanova proceeds to hand Sarah a white gift bag covered in text reading hugs, kisses, love, etc. Never one to appreciate being the center of attention, Sarah is so embarrassed that she will not even look at the smiling gift bearer. As my daughter cowers on the round seat of a cafeteria table, I have to go through the gift bag...oooing and aahhhing over the well-thought-out gifts that have been placed inside:

• a teddy bear dressed as a bee and holding a BEE MINE heart
• a heart-shaped PEZ candy dispenser
• a light-up, heart-shaped bling ring
• a small Valentine stamp set.

After unwrapping the gift, I thank the little cutie, strongly encourage my blushing daughter to do the same, and tell his mom how much we appreciate the present. She proceeds to tell me how Sarah is a topic of many dinner time conversations and how much her son likes her.

As they are about to depart, I reach out to give the little guy a hug and notice his t-shirt. Written on the front of his little 5-year-old chest are the words LADIES MAN. The humor of the situation is almost more than I can contain and, as he and his mom walk away from our table, I have to fight back the laughter that is bubbling inside of me.

At this point, I turn my attention back to my timid daughter, ready to ask her if she wants me just to take the gift that she so obviously doesn't want. What I see changes my laughter to borderline tears. Sarah has the sweetest little smile on her face. She is gently touching each of her gift items and grinning lightly to herself.

I sit there, staring at her. Slowly coming to the realization that my little girl is growing up. Just as obvious as a pair of tight sneakers, The Ladies Man has shown me that my girl has grown over night!