cooties

When I was young, all my girlfriends would say that "Boys had cooties" I secretly didn't care. I had brothers. I knew (or thought I knew) about boys. It, however, didn't prevent me from being shy (extremely shy) around boys I liked. I kinda went into a freeze mode. I wish now that someone had pulled me aside and told me it was okay...okay that I "liked" boys and didn't think they had cooties.

My (soon-to-be 6 year old) son came to me the other morning and said, "Mom, I had a dream." (We talk about our dreams a lot, so this was not a strange conversation. )
Me: -"Tell me what it was about."
Colb: "I kissed a girl. "

(I could see his eyes watching me intently to see how I would respond. I could tell by the way he said it, he was a little shy and embarrassed by it. I'm sure he was wondering - is this bad??)

Me: (smiling so he would know it was okay) "Really? Who was she?"
Colb: (shrugging) "I don't know, a girl."
Me:"Someone you know?"
Colb: "nope...just a girl."
Me: "Oh... well, that's nice. Kissing is nice."
Colb: (smiling big) "Yep."

Not that I am advocating my 6 year old to go out and swap his cooties with a girl anytime soon, but I want him to know that the feelings are nothing to be ashamed of.