We were blessed several weeks ago to spend a few days with some of our good friends that we hadn’t seen for two years. They are a family with two sons (ages 7 and 11) and a daughter (age 5). As the time for our visit approached, their little girl kept asking her mom questions about our family – specifically about our boys.
“How many boys does that lady have?” “How old are the boys?” “Doesn’t she have any little girls for me to play with?” “Do you think that lady is sad because she only has boys and doesn’t have any little girls like me?”
And my personal favorite, which was likely said with a sigh: “Does that lady have to bring all four of her boys to our house??”
It would seem that our upcoming visit wasn’t very appealing to a five year old girl. Understandably so. What would four big boys have to offer a five year old little girl? There would certainly be no one to play dolls, or house, or kitchen…
Thankfully, she welcomed us in anyway, playing “little hostess” to our overwhelmingly male family.
It wasn’t long before her mom noticed that her little girl was rather enjoying herself. She was all smiles, putting herself right in the mix of all of the boys without hesitation. And then, the whispers began: “Mom, these boys are all sooooo nice.” “Mom, I like all of these boys – but especially the boy with the glasses.” “Mom, what is the name of the boy with the glasses?” (Justus) “Oh yeah, Justus. I like him. He’s really nice.”
And so it went during our visit. “The Boy With the Glasses” aka Justus, didn’t quite know what to think about the situation. What is a 13 year old boy to do with a 5 year old little girl who has an apparent crush on him? He just continued to be sweet…and to mind his own business as much as possible. ;)
At meal time we began to hear: “I’m going to sit by The Boy With the Glasses.” While watching a movie: “I’m taking popcorn to The Boy With the Glasses.” On the way to church: “Can I ride in the van with The Boy With the Glasses?”
By the time we loaded up and headed back to Nebraska, we had made plans for their family to come visit us this summer. Holding onto the hope that she would see The Boy With the Glasses in a few short months, the little girl waved cheerfully as we pulled away.
Fastforward several months.
As our family sat at a basketball game recently, I pointed out a banner on a far away wall. My boys all looked over, read it, and chuckled. That is, all except for Elias. His reply was, “Hmm, are there words on it? I can’t read it.” Many questions followed, and it was determined that we needed to make an eye doctor appointment for him.
It was after this appointment that I called my friend to let her know (or rather to warn her) that when they came for a visit this summer, there would be not one, but two Boys with Glasses.
Look out Coppinger household (and five year old girls). There’s a new kid in town.
We’ve been having fun this week talking about when I got my first pair of glasses (I was right around Elias’ age!). Do you have glasses/contacts? How old were you when you realized you needed them?
