Boy Problems Aren't Just For High School Girls

Becky is officially a teenager in high school. I'm working through the stress of this the best I can, but some days are better than others.

She has been dating the same boy since early spring. They managed to stay together all through the summer, too. And they were an item when school started back this fall. At their ages I find this to be a long-term commitment and was quite proud of them for not being so frivolous as the two-day-on-again-off-again relationships most teen girls have.

Of course, I worry that they could get too involved with each other. I mean, sure. They spent the summer burning up the phone lines, and that's harmless. And they never actually went out, unless you count talking to each other on the phone while standing in their yards going out. But familiarity leads to more than contempt. It also leads to, well, familiarity. In a familiar sense of the word. One feels they know someone enough from talking on the phone that they can hold hands the next time they're together. In assembly. When the lights go off. And then maybe they'll kiss in a dark corner under the stair case. And then, my mind just goes numb with what could happen after that.

Actually, it goes numb at the holding hands part. Maybe even at the seeing each other in school part. Call me naive, but I'm not ready for this! Pass the chocolate.

But it's come to my knowledge that Becky and the boyfriend broke up recently. You'd think I'd be thrilled by this, wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong. I am, in fact, scared to death. Now I don't have one boy to worry about but an entire world of boys to worry about. And I don't think that my fears are unfounded. The boys football team called for Becky the other day. They were on a bus headed to a game, and called her. The football team. All of them. Together.

Better give me two chocolate bars. And an espresso.