In Love

As I'm doing Abbie's hair this morning, she strikes up the following conversation:

Abbie: Mom, how old do you have to be to be in love?
Mom: Older than you, little girl.
Abbie: But how old--16, 18, 19?
Mom: I'll tell you when you're old enough!
Abbie: But mom, in Sleeping Beauty, she's only 16 and she's in love with the prince. So what does it mean to be in love?
Mom: (condensed version) It's when you care about somebody else more than yourself. You want them to be happy, and you want to be with them forever.
Abbie: Well, I think I'm in love with Taylor.
(The other day, I found a little notebook that says "Abbie's Secrets" on the front. I asked her if I could look at her secrets, and she was more than happy to share them with me. One of the pages said, "I am in love with Talre." Taylor is a friend of hers from CA. Unfortunately, her cousin Becca shares Abbie's feelings for him. Ahhh...to be loved by so many!)
Mom: You think so, huh?
Abbie: Yep.
Mom: Well, you might have to fight Becca for him.
Abbie: giggles

How can my little girl be old enough to think she's in love?! When did that happen? How do I stop it?! Aren't girls suppose to think boys have cooties at this age? I did! Actually...I didn't, come to think of it. I think it was at about this age that a boy offered me a box full of erasers to kiss him at recess. I have to say, I thought about it for a little while. I even met him at the designated spot at recess. He opened the box, showed me the erasers (and there were a lot of erasers, baby), then I shouted no and ran away. I think I mostly said no because I thought 'my mom must be hiding in one of these trees, watching me through binoculars, and I'll get grounded for the rest of my life.' If she was in one of those trees, she never said anything. Maybe it was a test. Maybe she gave that little boy the box of erasers to see if I would fall into his trap! Maybe not. But that gives me some good ideas...