It was my son's last get-together with his best friend, S. S is a lovely brown-haired girl with an infectious grin, they'd become fast friends since the beginning of the school year and had remained inseparable ever since. I'd arranged for them to hang out at our house while I finished some last-minute packing before we left Seattle for our new home in Oregon, and I could hear their excited conversation over the chirp and mumble of the TV in the next room. As I loaded boxes and ran the tape gun, I found myself wondering how much they would miss each other, and whether or not they'd stay in touch after we moved.
A few minutes later, I peeked into the living room to check on them, and my eyes widened. Riley was lying on the floor in front of the television with S reclined over him, her head on his chest. Riley's hand trailed gently in her hair. The arrangement of their bodies made a startlingly intimate tableau.
DID I MENTION THE PART ABOUT HOW THEY'RE BOTH 6 YEARS OLD?
It was a completely innocent moment, but I have to say that I handled it with all the grace of an over-excited Sheltie. First I stood there giggling semi-hysterically to myself, then I strolled whistling through the room in order to stealth-snap photos of them with my phone (they remained oblivious), and finally I furiously texted the image to my husband.
UM, OH MY GOD, I wrote. LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE. IS THIS NORMAL? ARE THEY NOW MARRIED IN THE EYES OF THE LORD? HOW WILL I EXPLAIN THAT TO S's MOM?
HA, he wrote. THAT'S PRETTY CUTE.
I typed back: BUT SHOULD I BE FREAKING OUT? BECAUSE I AM KIND OF FREAKING OUT. SHOULD I THROW A BUCKET OF WATER ON THEM? SHOW THEM A GRAPHIC FILM ON THE REPERCUSSIONS OF UNDERAGE PREGNANCY? MAYBE I SHOULD SWITCH THE CHANNEL FROM LOONEY TUNES TO TEEN MOM?
IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL BUT WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK THEM TO MOVE, he wrote.
BUT I DON'T WANT TO MAKE *THEM* FEEL LIKE WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS WEIRD BECAUSE IT DOES SEEM PRETTY INNOCENT AND AFFECTIONATE AND WHAT IF—
JESUS DARLIN, I'M AT WORK HERE.
Okay fine.
So in the end I just told them they were too close to the TV and it wasn't good for their eyes (ha! Old-school parenting FTW) and they moved to the couch where they started pelting each other with pillows and pretty soon they ran outside and made annoying pshew pshew pshew sounds for about a solid hour while wielding sticks and shouting about which Ninjago warrior they were and THE END.
But I'm still torn on whether their comfy cuddle-time was the most adorable thing ever, or a teensy tiny bit on the WHOAH HOLY SHIT side. What do you think? What would you do if you saw your kindergarten-aged kid snuggling with their friend, looking for all the world like a couple of pint-sized newlyweds?
Image via Linda Sharps
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Comments 546
I agree that this is nothing but a harmless, and ADORABLE moment between two best friends who may never see each other again!!!!! Consider yourself lucky that you have been able to capture such a great moment of your son on camera.
PLEASE stop overthinking this...
I think you ruined a precious and innocent moment between six year old best friends.
This is so cute!!!!! and HARMLESS!!!
I think it's interesting that you reacted the way most of society reacts: "oh no! They're showing affection. We must stop it because she might get pregnant!! .... oh, look, they're shooting at each other! Isn't that cute??"
I agree with the others. There's a big (gargantuan, mongo, massive) difference between 6 and 12. Of course, when they're 12, now we're saying, "yes, go ahead, hug!! We need more love and affection!! Here's a condom!!" Such mixed messages we send our kids. Let them hug each other, let them comfort each other. He's moving and they may never see each other again. Kids are resilient, but they also need to deal with grief in their own way. That's all they were doing.
Linda - I would have reacted the exact same way... that feeling of... OMG - this is so adorable - but feels too adult to be right for a couple of 6-year-olds! Thank you for having it happen to you first...
I think it was probably completely innocent. But maybe it's puppy love! :)
Complete overreaction. Should have just let them have their moment.
When I was 4 and my (male) best friend and I were talking about "growing up, getting married and living at Disney Land" (in Cinderella's castle, of course), should our parents have sat us down and told us about what a huge, lifelong commitment marriage is? Of course not. We were kids with a dream.