I figured I'd write about an amusing observation for a change of pace. About three weeks ago I took my 3 year old son to the dentist. While we were waiting in the waiting room there was a little girl who appeared to be about 2 years old. She had a serious fixation on my son: she was "STRAIGHT SCOPIN" him! I mean the stare she fixed on him was undeniable; she wore an expression of deep admiration on her face as he walked, ran and jumped about the waiting area. My 3 year old son has a mild form of Autism so he really doesn't pay people in his surroundings a lot of attention oftentimes, so he blocked her powerful stare out completely. However, my son is 3 feet 6 inches tall at 3 years old, or about the average height of a 5 year old, is well built for a child, and is always told he is very good looking. This little girl's longing stare went on for a full 20 minutes as he moved about the waiting room, wandering and reading the numbers and letters off of the special alphabet kiddie rug they had on the floor there while off in his own little world.

Then the moment came that seemed to crush her world! He came over to us, looked at his mother, and said "binky". Yes, he wanted his pacifier, which we have allowed him to retain for the moment only because we're conquering one behavioral issue at a time and with the Autism it is extra challenging. But the look on the little girl's face will be in my mind forever; she wore a face that showed clear heartbreak or disappointment. Its as if she was admiring this "older man" as some type of young Shango warrior-type, and then the illusion was shattered as she came to the reality that "he's just a baby!" It was hilarious to my wife and I as we looked along at the shock on the little girl's face. She no longer stared at him from that moment; the spell was broken and the 'love' was lost.

Even though this was two preschool children, I couldn't help but think how I've seen this scenario play out amongst teens and even adults, except unfortunately it takes a bit longer for many women to recognize that the 'fine man' they have their eye on is just a little boy in a man's body. Of course my son is only 3 and will most definitely be taught by his father various forms of knowledge, discipline, and responsibility. Still, I could not help see the parallel in this scenario to the adult world and how things continue to play out. Many adult males never learn to be men and only are boys masquerading in men's bodies, and many women never learn what to look for in a man because they themselves are lacking in their development and therefore take these emotionally undeveloped males as mates and wonder why they have a life of one disappointment after the next. Life starts early, and unless we develop properly we are nothing but little children in a playroom looking for love in all the wrong places.

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