Boys boys boys...

You all know my routine when picking up Malia: I spy on her for a bit and then say hello through the fence before heading into school to pick her up. Last week I saw her playing with 3 other kids: Gina, Aman and Emma. They were running around and though I could not hear what they were saying, I could tell there was some sort of running commentary going on from the way their mouths were moving.

The kids see me and run up to say hi. That is, the kids minus Malia. She was still in her game. They call her over and she ran over the say hi. But before I could give her a hug, she said "Mommy, I don't want to go home yet. I'm still playing!" Then she takes a few steps away, turns around and with her arm, beckons her friends with a "Come on guys! Follow me! Let's play some more!"

So they all leave me, with Malia in the lead. It was such a bittersweet moment. Sweet because she obviously enjoys school and making friends. Bitter because she's so much more independent now, not needing me as much. I'm going to be a wreck when she takes her first bus field trip.

In my chat with Mrs. Lerma, I tell her that Malia seems to have gotten over her "Boys are bad" mentality. Aside from Gina, Malia's best friend at school is... Aman! The same little boy that scared her to tears just a couple of weeks ago. Aman Aman Aman is all she talks about. Mrs. Lerma then tells me that at writing time, she sat Malia next to 2 girls. However, Malia didn't want to sit there. Instead, she (and this is a direct quote from Malia) wanted to "sit next to boys."

Yeah. I can tell the teen years are going to be fun.