The Kissy Boys Club and Other Musings of a Six Year Old

Edie and her friends like to chase certain boys around the playground at recess. Apparently, the boys must like the game: they might run away, but they always come back. Each girl chases a particular boy. Fortunately, I happen to think that the boy Edie chases is very cute. I will be kind and not publicly out him here, but I developed a fondness for him last year when he would run up to me every day shouting "Edie's mom, Edie's mom, look at my wiggly teeth" and then put his mouth directly in front of my face. Who could resist??

Beginning next week, the girls are starting a new game called the "Kissy Boys Club." They will make pink cards with hearts for the boys to use as tickets to get into the Club. I asked Edie whether there is kissing involved, and she emphatically said no kissing, just "risks." I didn't dare ask for clarification. I asked if the boys would want to be in the Kissy Boys Club with the pink and all. She wasn't sure they would want to be in the Club "exactly," but felt pretty certain the girls could chase them down and bend them to their will. Yes, those are my words not hers.



In other news, we had a couple of interesting conversations tonight as I was tucking Edie in to bed. First, I tried to have a constructive conversation with her about her tendency to over-react to minor setbacks. I may even do a separate post on the "I Lost My New Pink Canteen Bottle Meltdown" of yesterday afternoon, or perhaps on the "Waaahhhh, Why Can't This Stupid Tape Hold 12 Sheets of Paper in Place, It's RUINED Episode" this evening. U-G-L-Y. I have coached her on taking deep breaths when she starts to spin out of control, and asked her what else we could do to help her learn to cool down in these situations. Tonight, she bolted upright in bed and said "I need to make a very large poster to help me remember." Immediately, I thought of this:


Not being British, Edie had a more American spin on the sentiment. She told me the poster should say "DON'T CRY" and then underneath a "thick black line" it should say "BELIEVE IN YOURSELF." Anyone interested in licensing rights?

Moving on, one of the books I read to Edie tonight was Shades of People which illustrates all the different shades skin can come in.


I have been choosing books that could help us have more meaningful discussions on race and racism. So we read the book, and then I asked Edie if she remembered a story about a woman who was a slave, and what slavery meant and how it was based on skin color and looking different, and how terribly wrong that was. She was very pensive, then looked at me and said, "Mama?" "What honey?" I responded. And Edie said, "Listen to the song I learned today at school: McDonald's is your kind of place, they serve you rattlesnakes, there is no parking place....."