The Beginning of Something ... (insert adjective here)

And yes, those goggles are upside down

"Your brother is sooooo cute!" squealed Tweenie's friend.

We threw a "School's Out!" pool party for Tweenie's Girl Scout troop - eight giggling 9 to 11-year old preteens. Husband dutifully passed on his usual Saturday morning office run to look after Rascal and Kye while I handled the pizza and lifeguarding assignments.

Rascal and Kye were supposed to play nicely in the sandbox or playroom far from the girls as per Tweenie's express request, but apparently they didn't get that memo. Instead, they batted their long lashes (as only little boys have) at the girls and acted uncharacteristically sweet and well-behaved.

At some point, Kye got hold of a pair of swim goggles and wore them for the rest of the afternoon. Swimming. Eating pizza. Watching SpongeBob. It didn't matter. Eventually I had to confiscate them because they were grooving red marks into my baby's tender skin-- it didn't go over very well.

The sight of a diapered boy wearing goggles and eating watermelon prompted Tweenie's friend's comment, and I realized that eventually such a comment will lead to similar, less welcome breathy announcements.

"Oh my gosh, your brother is so cute!" As in date bait.

This hits a little close to home, because you see, I married my best friend's brother. I know where this is going. My then-BFF constantly waffled between 3 trains of thought:

1. Ew! Like, he's my brother! Don't tell me about how he kisses, seriously.

2. Thank God-- I guess we don't have to compete over Dale anymore :)

3. Well, if my bro has to date somebody, it may as well be someone I trust and actually get along with...

Geez, it starts earlier than I thought.