First Kiss

Buby and Grace after the holiday concert on 12.21.10.



I cannot believe I'm using the words "kiss" and "Buby" in the same sentence. But here goes. The evidence as presented to me:


December 19th {two Sundays ago}. Buby and Bleu are having a play date at our good friend Allison's house while My Sweets takes me and Ollie out for birthday lunch. Buby and Grace build a fort downstairs. Grace tells Bleu she can't come in the fort. Five year olds IN! Two year olds OUT! At some point Buby leans in and kisses Grace on the cheek. She kisses him right back, on the lips. Buby falls over. Or backwards. I can't remember the exact wording. He is obviously surprised, according to Grace. She is giddy.


Grace keeps it secret for a whole week until she sees her Omi on the Cape. Then it spills out. Omi tells Allison. Allison tells Jon. Grace tells Jon and eventually Allison. Allison tells me. I tell Tom. In private. Buby tells me last night {one day later} while I'm kissing him on the cheek and asking leading questions about kissing people on cheeks. Heehee. I still do not let Buby know that we already know. He's officially blushing, and I change the subject to spare him. No official confirmation on whether the lip kiss was successful or not. I guess that part remains mystery.


Grace tells her daddy, "Gavin wants to marry me, but I already married you when I was three." Matter of fact, like it's crossed off her to-do list.


Buby tells me, "I love Grace."


My thoughts. Our little boy's best friend is a girl. A girl who knows princes and fairy tales and happily ever afters. They've been friends a VERY. LONG. TIME. I know Buby feels sentimental about Grace, but he doesn't usually think of her as a girl. They met as babies, before those things mattered, and several of his close friends are female. If I had to guess... he didn't think much of initiating a cheek kiss. That's sooo Buby. Grace is important to him, and he wanted to show her that. We cheek kiss all day long here. But I am betting Grace's lip plant was a game changer in his mind. That threw him off. That's what Mommy and Daddy do. That's why he squirmed and blushed at first mention of Grace's name after it happened.


Last Spring Allison and I joked that the kids might kiss one day... many years out... since Grace would want to choreograph something as monumental as a first kiss. That's just her style. We laughed that she'd handpick Buby for the job because he's so sensitive and sweet and obliging. A safe, predictable option... and he'd never turn her down.


So. Here at home we also give kisses of the imaginary fruit-flavored variety. I started it when Buby was little. All day long someone is throwing or catching them from across the room. I think I'll encourage THAT more going forward.


But seriously, I'm writing this down because someday my kindergartner will no longer be a kindergartner and might appreciate knowing when and with whom he shared this precious milestone. I wish I remembered my first kiss. I really do.