Lock up your daughters

Yesterday was School Picture Day, and Henry looked, if he did say so himself, particularly dashing. On the walk home from school we walked part of the way with a girl from his class. While Charlie peed on every un-peed-upon leaf, I heard her saying to him, "You are handsome in that yellow shirt, Henry. You look so handsome today." Henry nodded and gave her a half-smile as he walked and she skipped in circles around him. Her mom said to me, "She talks about Henry all the time." "That's so sweet," I said, and struggled to remember if he had ever mentioned her before.

As we parted ways, the girl cried out one last time, "You look really handsome, Henry!" He didn't even glance at her as we crossed the street. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?" I asked him. He thought for a second, then turned around and shouted, "You looked really beautiful today!"

A moment later I looked back, and she was still standing there, beaming and waving as he walked away.

Comments

[All Adither]

That Henry is a smooth one.

[Rachel]

That is the sweetest thing ever.

[Nichole]

What a little sweetheart!

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

Be afraid; very, very afraid.

[cj]

And so it begins...

[Kristen]

My heart? It just melted. Where can I find a Henry my age?

[SuburbanCorrespondent]

Oh, wow - that is so charming. Little boys are just so charming.

[EB]

Any chance sweet little Henry can give my husband some pointers? :)

[Chookooloonks]

Spontanous kindness -- God, I love that in a guy.

Tell him to feel free to e-mail me at any time. I have a four-year-old little girl that I think he'd love to meet ... ;-)

[College Mama]

Very, very sweet.

[You can call me, 'Sir']

Dammit, Alice! You're destroying my cynicism with your stories of Henry's charm!

[Jozet at Halushki]

Very cute!

There's a little boy in love with my 6 year old. he was devastated when they didn't get the same first grade teacher. I personally think arranged marriages at a young age are a great thing; puts an end to all those anxious "will I have a date for the middle school prom" moments.

[leah]

I demand pictures!

[Jim]

Oh, if only I was as world-wise as Henry at his age! I spent most of my formative years avoiding cooties..

[mike]

Confession: Halfway through your post, I had to double-check to see who was peeing on all the leaves. You never can tell with little boys.

Also, Henry is seriously smooooove. The easy compliments always pay off, don't they?

Note to self: Be more like Henry (less like Charlie).

[The Yummy Mummy]

Okay, Henry is obviously a sweetheart and may I add, well-trained by you, but now I'm wondering...

Are my girls going to be skipping circles around some boy at school and telling him over and over how handsome he is and then, coming home and regaling us with stories of his heroic crayon drawings and impeccable penmanship?

Crap. They will won't they?

I'm sick. Thanks Alice.

Kim

[Readersguide]

Oh, how sweet --

[Rivetergirl]

I'm having a crappy day and the sweetness of this story put a much-needed smile on my face. How lovely!

[Hottdog]

that is sweet.

[Lisa C]

ah! my heart gave a little flutter! I'm in love with Henry, too!

[jenfromRI]

Oh, that story made my day. So sweet.

[mathew]

after everyone threw up in their mouth a little, i'm sure there was a collective 'awwwwww'

[alice]

YM, if it makes you feel any better, I think it's because Henry's the oldest in the class as much as it is that he's a (dreamy) boy. I've seen the skipping-in-circles-around-him happen with the younger boys in his class, too. He's the BMOC right now.

[Planet Mom]

Ahhhhhh, let the era of romance begin! It's an endearing little phase for parents that lasts roughly for-EVER--or at least until kids clam up and stop telling all. That, my friend, is when parenting really gets interesting.

P.S. I'll bet the little devil did look rather handsome. Awwwww. :-)

[sac]

That girl will remember that for the rest of her life, the first time a boy called her beautiful. This story softens my hard heart.