Who is JB anyway? And what does it really matter?

The other day at school my seven year old was teased because she did not know who Justin Beiber was or why the other girls were so “crazy” about him. She was told, “If you do not know who JB is then you do not know ANYTHING. How stupid.” . She came home very upset about this and asked me who he was. I explained he was just a singer that a lot of girls seem to like, but that I could not tell her what songs he sings because I do not know.

You see my little girl can identify many of the Presidents and what they did in office that was special. She knows the states and many of the capitals. She knows all about other historical characters such as Benjamin Franklin, Johnny Appleseed, and Martin Luther King. She has always preferred history over pretend. I am okay with that. The lessons she can learn from people in the past are worth far more than knowing the supposed favorite color of some singer that twenty years from now will either be a footnote in musical history or worse a 30-40 something man trying to relive the glory days and failing miserably as all of his fans are now also 30-40 something and have better things to do with their money and time. I am not trying to be rude there, just noting what has happened to the vast majority of the boys de jour of the past.

She then mentioned how many of the girls are talking about having boyfriends and even wanting to kiss them. I have read a book to Savannah about a princess and her special gift – her first kiss. The premise of the book is that the kiss is so special and should be saved for marriage. Now, I am not saying that no one should kiss before marriage, but in many ways it might not be a bad idea to wait. However, I am not so strict as to try and hold her to that. However, I really like how the book champions such things and brings to light how other things are not as important as true love and respect (such as physical strength, money, flattery, etc). Here is a link to the book: The Princess and the Kiss.

All of this got me to thinking about how fast she is growing and how soon the dating years will be here. I got to thinking about what kind of boy I wanted her to meet and date and which boys should be avoided. I thought about all the mistakes I made regarding boys and all my regrets that I hope she does not have. I thought about the characteristics I want the boy(s) to possess. The same would go for Caroline as she grows. It is also the kind of guy I would want Ian to become.

I will be doing a series of blog posts, for those who are interested, about these characteristics.