My Older Daughter has a Boyfriend

Yep... you read that right. My older daughter has a boyfriend. You probably expect me to write a post about how I'm freaked and how I'll kill the boy if he breaks her heart or if he even looks at her with what could possibly be mistaken for lust. Well, you're wrong. Believe it or not, I'm proud of and happy for her. Hey, the kid's 15 and in high school. I knew this day would be coming and I'd like to think that I've done a fair job of psychologically preparing myself for its pending arrival.

More specifically, I've kind of known that this day was right around the corner, and with this boy. My daughter and Neighbor Girl have been talking about "Hot French Kid" (meaning hot kid from French class, not hot kid from France) since school started. Soon they started talking to him at school, next came the IM chats and phone conversations. The kid even told me point blank that she liked him and hoped that he'd ask her out, so yeah, I knew this day was coming.

One evening in particular, she was IMing with him and talking with me about nothing in particular when she suddenly said "Oh, wait! I think he's going to ask me out." I walked away to give her some space. Later on, I asked her what happened. "That butthead," she responded.

"What?" I asked.

"It's easier to just show you," she answered. So she pulled up her IM conversation with Hot French Kid...

HFK: What would you say if I asked you out some time.

Her: IDK, I don't think I'd say no.

HFK: Ok. I may do that some time.

I was amused. She was too, but at the same time she was a little miffed. (Understandably)

I said "Look, if this happens again, you can say 'I'd probably say yes, but the longer you wait, the less likely you are to get a yes.'" She liked that idea.

Fast-forward to last night, when the kid happily announced that she's going out with Hot French Kid. I asked her when and how it happened and she told me. A little later, when I had her alone for a minute or two, I said "Look kid, I know that I've been teasing you about Hot French Kid, but I know you've been wanting to date him for a while. I just want to let you know that I'm happy for you." I think that caught her a little by surprise.

"Thanks, dad," she answered after a short pause.

"Oh kid, one other thing..."

"You're not going to give me the sex talk, are you?"

It was as if she read my mind, but the thing is, we've had the talk many times... she knows it very well, so all I had planned to say was...

"Sex talk." We grinned, and I left the room. Hot French Kid was calling.