Baby's First Kiss and Friday the 13th

Baby's First Kiss


Friday, November the 13th was not an unlucky day for Bobo Monkey. That evening the three of us went to get groceries. Jeff did not want to go-what man would, right?-but I wanted groceries and Bobo loves pushing shopping carts, so I wanted all three of us to go in order to have one adult grab groceries while the other helped Bobo push his beloved shopping cart.


At the check out, Little Man was his typical self, reaching to grab and pull items off shelves, so I led him to the other end of the register, beside the wall. There was a toddler near us with curly blond hair and blue eyes who had climbed and seated herself on a stack of water bottle cases. Her parents were also at their respective register. As they were leaving, the little girl's mother turned her attention to Bobo which prompted her daughter to ask if she could kiss Bobo. I was hoping that the mother would have discouraged the little girl from wanting to kiss Bobo as I'm wary of germs, but she didn't. Instead, the mother told her little girl, "Remember that you need to ask for permission before you kiss the baby."


And ask me she did. I wanted to say to "no," but I didn't want to come across as a dick, so I told her she could kiss Bobo. As she leaned in close to Bobo, there were two things that I worried about. First, I didn't want the little girl to kiss Bobo on the lips; I was worried about his well-being. Secondly, I was worried about her well-being. Jeff, who's as clueless as they come, thinks it's cool that he has taught his son to head-butt. He has smacked me hard on the face and head a number of times already, so I was afraid he'd smack the little girl, too. But she leaned in and gave Boogie a kiss on the cheek and Boogie didn't harm her, fortunately.


Having kissed Boogie, it occurred to the little girl to ask her mother if she could then hug him. Her mother gave her the same reply, "You need to ask if it's O.K. for you to hug the baby." And ask me she did and I gave her permission to hug the baby. She leaned in again and put her arms around him, and fortunately, he didn't head-butt the pretty little girl.


She and her parents then turned to leave the store and I realized that my little boy had just been kissed for the first time.