Ode to Charles

11/11/11 is a day I will never forget. It is the day that my four year old daughter declared her love for a little boy. Cozette was sitting on top of the kitchen table, while I was sweeping. I heard her talking to herself. She kept repeating over and over, "I love him, Oh, I love him." This caught my attention, so I stopped and asked, thinking that she was talking about her daddy, "Cozette, who do you love?" Well, she got this little sly expression on her face and said, "It's a secret!"

I was absolutely flabbergasted.


This is how our conversation went from there:

Me: Cozette, is it really a secret?

Cozette: Yes.

Me: Cozette, you can tell Mommy? It's okay.

Cozette: Nope.

Me: Can I guess? Is he in your class?

Cozette: Yes.

Me: Is it Isaac? (she answered no) Is it Cooper? (she answered no) Is it David? (she answered no) Is it Anthony? ( she answered no)

I named a few other boys, and she said no about all of them. I had to pause...

Cozette; MOMMY, THERE IS ONE MORE BOY IN MY CLASS!

Me: I know. I'm trying to think. Cozette, Is it Charles?

Cozette: YES! I looooove him, Mommy.

I just about fainted from shock. I was processing that my four year old is in love, and that I have two much older children who never had any crushes this early-- or perhaps at all!

Me: Cozette, does Charles know?

Cozette: Yes, I told him yesterday.

Me: What did he say?

Cozette: Nothing.

Me: Well, what makes Charles so special?

Cozette: His dot is by mine, and we sit by each other in circle time.

Me: Oh, I see. Do your friends know?

Cozette: Yes. I told Laney, Reagan, and Ruthie.

Me: What did they say?

Cozette: (She laughed) They said it was disgusting.

Me: It's not disgusting. Did that hurt your feelings?

Cozette: No, I love him.

Cozette continued to talk about Charles for the rest of the evening. She even colored a picture of him. She told me that she was going to wear a special head band to school on Monday. I acted like it was no big deal. In truth, it is a big deal. She's growing up too fast--and I don't want her to.

It was a shock that only 11/11/11/ could bring!

I do love this little boy.
He makes class so much fun.
He decided to break dance right in the middle of our concert.

Cozette's preschool class.
I was getting ready to read a story to them at the pumpkin patch festival.
They also performed for their parents.
The skeleton twist was a big hit!

Cozette with her music teacher a.k.a Mommy.