My son likes a girl.....now what do I do?

Cry? Throw up? Cry? Cry? That's what I feel like doing. It all started a couple days ago. My 8 year old comes home and asks where the nail clippers are? "The nail clippers?" I ask. "Why do you need those?" With a look only a highly intelligent 8 year old can give his idiot mother, he says "because I want to clip my nails. They are dirty". Oh, ok, well that's normal for you I thought.......if hell is about to freeze over! He then proceeds to waltz his little hiney into our bathroom and clean out his nails. About an hour later he asks if he can take a shower........at this point I wanted to fall to my knees and beg God to give us a little more time. Surely Jesus was coming right at this very moment. This is the same kid who would go weeks without bathing unless I told him to, right? "Well sure you can take a shower honey" I respond trying hard not to look like I'm trying hard not cock my eyebrows in a way he will know that I know somethings up. Get all that? I told this to my husband, to which he had the same eyebrow raising reaction. "Do you think it's a girl" he asked? "Oh my heaven's no!" (Alright, for the 3 of you that read this and know I don't say oh my heavens, I'll confess I didn't use those exact words. But let's not split hairs during my life's greatest crisis, shall we? No way was my little man interested in a girl. No way. No how. Those other delinquent boys at our Christian school may have been talking girls since 1st grade, but not my little angel. But alas, my little world today has been shattered. My little man comes home and tells me his friend Danny likes Elise (names have been changed to protect the innocent). He proceeds to tell me how shocked he was that Danny likes this girl. "What's wrong with Elise?" I ask. "Nothing really, I'm just shocked he likes her" is his response. Then I, for whatever reason, ask the question that forever has changed my life. "Do you have any girls you like?" Why did I have to ask? Why couldn't I have just lived in this bubble a few days more? "Yes". And with that little word, my heart forever lays on the floor. "Well, who do you like?" is the only response I can muster. "Guess" he says. So I start naming off some of the girls I think would make good wife material. After a few "no's" and one "no way, she's too tall", we reach the object of my son's crush. I must admit he made a good choice. My husband's first response when I told him who the person is was "what does she look like?" Leave it to a man to respond that way. I mean really - he's eight for crying out loud, and so is she. But she is cute. Tonight as I ponder this change in our life, that annoying Nationwide commercial rings in my head. "Life comes at you fast". It sure does. Yesterday my little guy was playing Lego's and riding his bike; today, we're talking about girls. It's one of those moments in life that slap you in the face and say "wake up - pay attention - this won't last forever you know!" And yet, it also is one of those moments where I feel God standing behind me, hands on my shoulders, as he freezes a moment in time and says "hey, this is your son. I've only given him to you for a short while. Embrace these days. Take time to spend with him. Relish his innocence while he still has it. Teach him the path to walk on, and how to stay there. Make me a part of your family's day. Talk to him about me. For the next time I freeze a moment for you, he'll be a man." My goodness how quickly time goes by. We do only have these precious ones for a little while. I just pray that amidst the ball games and swimming lessons; school and church activities; friends and playdates, that we are loving him in a way that he will always want to come back to; encouraging him in a way that builds his self-esteem; teaching him the love God has for him. I pray we always keep our eye on the man we want him to become, and that God gives us wisdom for each day......and that tomorrow we can go back to talking about Lego's.