Lynda Loveland: Love in the first grade?

Huh? Yeah, that was my first thought. But I'm seeing the first inklings of "like." My first grade daughter has been spending time after school playing with her friend, who happens to be a boy. He lives in our neighborhood. How convenient.

My daughter is a bit of a tomboy and doesn't have a girlie bone in her body. (Just like her mom.) She'd rather give up her Nintendo DS and her Wii AND her guinea pigs than wear a dress. Given that, she prefers to play with boys.

Lately, she's been having play dates with a boy from her class. He calls after school. They go to each other's house or to the pool. They've drawn pictures for each other. And the other day, out of the blue, she made him a mii on our Wii! Of course she won't confess to liking him.

He's a super nice kid with great manners. The kind of boy every mom and dad would love to see their daughter bring home. But in first grade???

OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. They haven't even come remotely close to anything even closely resembling something mushy. (Didya get that?) It's actually kind of sweet and innocent. They seem to really enjoy each other's company.

I don't know, maybe I had the same experience in first grade, but I don't remember. Things sure are different these days. What in the world will the days to come bring? I feel like I'm starting to enter a new phase of parenting. Not quite sure I'm ready.