Pin-Up Girl

Of course I have no idea what the future holds, but I get these occasional glimpses of what Heath might be like as a teenager. Recently he told me he has plans to get a Batman Jeep and drive it in the mud. At first I try to imagine this moment as having some sort of lucrative, environmental, scholarly purpose, then I have to shake off my next picture of him, parked in a field, sleeping in the back of the Batman Jeep, smoking Marlboro Reds, resting his feet on top of a cooler full of Busch Light with The Allman Brothers cranked full blast.

One thing is for sure, Heath is going to be all about the ladies. This school year he instantly developed a crush on an admittedly angelic classmate. He has gone through an assortment of imaginary girlfriends in the last couple of months. Dora. Alicia, Diego's sister. Strawberry Shortcake. From time to time I have found him sitting at the kitchen table with a J. Crew catalog, studying the models.

Who's she? he asks, pointing to a pixie-ish gal wearing the Classic Navy Serena bridesmaid dress.

She's a model for the catalog.

A model for the catalog, he sighs.

Today, while I was frantically trying to get us together for a morning playdate, Heath was standing on his stool at the kitchen counter flipping through my Weekly Calendar book. It's not my preference for him in terms of activities. There are lots of random notes and papers and birthday cards and invitations shoved in what may seem like meaningless order to some, but I know where it all is. I figure his shuffling around is going to cause a long-term reorganizing project for myself, but in the short-term...he's busy, no one is getting hurt, and I almost have three people properly dressed, a bag that is abundantly stashed (extra clothes, diapers, wipes, snacks), and we are totally on time.

So when he stepped down from the stool and asked me for some tape, I absentmindedly said, Sure. I grabbed my cell phone and the tape, then I noticed the pink paper in his hand.

What do you have? I asked, before I handed him any tape.

He proudly holds up the pink and purple greeting card. Abby Cadabby, Sesame Street's three year old fairy-in-training, pops out of the middle of the card. It reads, Have a Fairy Happy Birthday!

He wanted the tape so he could hang her picture on his bedroom wall. He was so thrilled to have his purple-haired girlfriend there, he gave her a big kiss.

I wonder who his girlfriend will be tomorrow?