Ahhhh…young love.  I’ve been thinking a lot about young love lately and not because I’m looking back and pining for a lost love.  I have the love of my life so there is no pining for me.  I’ve been thinking a lot about young love because I am seeing in first hand, in full bloom in my house.  And it’s precious.

Zach has a girlfriend. I always thought I would dread saying those words but I don’t.  Not in the least and it’s surprised me.  I love watching Zach with Libby.  They are sweet together.   They are kind and respectful to one another.  They care about the other.  They are friends with one another.  I see Zach becoming a stellar young man right before my very eyes as I watch young love blossom.

Zach asked me the other day if I thought his attitude has changed since he a Libby became a couple.  And I had to answer yes to his question.  Libby is leading him well, as he navigates the softer side of his feelings, not only for her, but for his family as well.  Libby doesn’t let him treat his brother or his sister poorly.  Libby has brought out the softer side of Zach as he relates to his younger siblings and I couldn’t be happier as Zach becomes more comfortable showing his affection.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine and roses when it comes to inter-sibling  relations…I can hear the thudding through the house now as the boys show each other their “affection” but Zach is definitely warmer with both Lucas and Claire.  And I’m pretty sure his attitude has shifted a little because he is more comfortable with his sweeter side.

You might be wondering why I thought I would dread saying “Zach has a girlfriend.”  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you can probably almost answer that on your own and you can guess it’s because I don’t like thinking about my kiddos growing up.  There is another part of the equation, though, which is I am selfish.  I jealously guarded my time with these munchkins of mine.  But over the past two years I’ve realized something.  I’ve realized that in bringing more and more kids into the fold of our family life, the richer our lives have become.  Our house is now blessed with not three kiddos at any given time but now I have a revolving door of many kids who enriched this family in so many ways.  Libby, and young love, has added another wonderful layer to the dimension of our family.

In the two years I have worked on this blog I have changed, morphed and grown more than I ever thought possible.  I have watched my oldest go from being a young, gawky teenager to a responsible young man and I have not only lived through it all, I think I’ve come out stronger.  In the beginning of this blog I was worried I might implode as I thought about Zach getting his learner’s permit and his driver’s license.  As I wrote my way through the past two years I have come to realize I’m not going to implode.  Milestones are still a killer and tears come unbidden sometimes when I think how quickly time has gone.  But what I think I’ve learned as I’ve gone through this blog is as long as I’m willing to grow with my kids in each of their stages I’ll be OK, and so will they.

So, yes, Zach has a girlfriend.  I’m glad Zach has Libby.  They both deserve to experience young love in such a perfectly sweet way.

Oh, for the love of my children…