In a Relationship?!

This I am definitely not ready for. And it's not even my kid. Yet. So here's the deal. Ian's best buddy went to camp this summer for a month. Upon arriving home this past weekend, even before returning Ian's desperate "let's get together" phone call, he went online to update his Facebook status. And I don't mean a "Hey friends, I'm home from camp" update. I mean a relationship status update. From nothing, to "In a relationship." Ack!

How does a boy who seemed to have no real interest in girls suddenly have a girlfriend after just four weeks? Well, according to Ian's friend, "She asked me once, I said no. Then she asked me again and I said no, but she kept asking so I just said yes." (I wish I'd known you could wear a man boy down like that; I'm sure I'd have been more successful at the dating scene if I just shown a little persistence.)

When Ian shared this with me, he added, "I guess you'll be expecting me to ask someone out now." To which I reacted with an emphatic and probably high-pitched "NO!" I then got a hold of myself and mumbled, "Well, not unless you want to, of course." And Ian replied, "I don't know."  I don't know? Don't you mean "Ick, yuck, girls have cooties?"

After once again regaining my composure, I casually questioned, "Well, who would you ask out?" And he again responded with "I don't know. That's why I said 'I don't know.'" At which point Abby chimed in with "What about Susie?" (Susie--not her real name--has been Ian's best girl-friend for a few years), and now it was Ian's turn to respond with an emphatic and high-pitched "NO!" adding, "Then we couldn't be friends anymore!"

And there you have it. The reason men are so bad at relationships. They think the girl they are friends with can never be their girlfriend. Of course, at the age of 12, Ian's probably right. The chances of Ian and Susie staying friends and "going out" for the next 10+ years are pretty slim. The chances of Ian and Susie going out, breaking up after a month, and never speaking to each other again until their 15th high school reunion are much better.

I don't know how long Ian's friend's "relationship" will last with this girl, but I do know that he has opened up Pandora's box a world of possibility that I'm pretty sure Ian wouldn't have entered had not a friend jumped in first. And for that, I may never forgive him. 

Have I mentioned I'm not ready for this yet?