Substantial Crush
My kiddo has had a crush on the same girl since 2nd grade. On the first day he saw her, his smile lit up his face and he instantly began chatting her head off. She was shy and was unsure about her new school and he made it his mission to befriend her and give her a great first year. In third grade, (I'll never forget this) I was rushing him out the door for school. He was dawdling ... like he always does ... and his face transformed from everyday kid to a starstruck dreamer. He smiled and stared out to nothing at all and said, "You know mommy ... I'm going to marry that girl someday and carry her over the threshold in her wedding dress. I even know who my best men are going to be." I blinked twice unsure of how to answer, told him that he was very sweet, and continued rushing him out the door for school. In fourth grade, he wanted to start buying her gifts for birthdays, Christmas, or practically any other reason he could think of. We'd arrange meet-up