It's Boyfriend...I Mean, Band Season!

A little background:

Last year, when Danielle started high school, she had never had a boyfriend. We had talked about boys, and I told her that the main thing that was important to me was that a boy be sweet to her. He doesn't need to be the smartest or cutest thing on the block, but you need to have enough respect for yourself to know that you deserve to be treated well. It was a nice talk.

Fast forward to band camp, last year (freshman year.) At the end-of-band-camp party, she meets a very nice boy, also a freshman, a trumpet player and an honors student, that I'll call T. Nothing like hitting the jackpot on your very first pull. T is a really sweet kid. They started going out. We really like this kid a lot. At their three-month anniversary, he gave her a handmade card that made me cry. (I'm 40 years old, and no one has ever given me a card like that!)
They went to homecoming together. (Weren't they cute?) They were still together for the band trip to California. Christmas break, Valentine's day, still together. Then March came...and Danielle decided that T was a little bit boring. They didn't really do anything "fun", and I guess after being tied down for 8 months, she was ready for a little freedom. So after a few weeks of agonizing, she broke up with him. I think he was rather hurt by this, and I don't blame him. Seriously, he is the sweetest boy.

So, softball season started, and Danielle is the pitcher for the freshman team. She starts dating the catcher on the freshman boys' baseball team, J. This lasted about...I don't know, 6 weeks or so. Not very long. She decided that J wasn't all that bright and he was not all that nice (in fact, I'm not sure what happened, but she now refers to him as "the a-hole"), so she broke up with him. Summer came, she had a job, she was bored and lonely. I think it was near the end of the summer that she and T started talking again. Not talking in person, mind you...the communication method of choice amongst teens is texting. That way you don't actually have to, you know, talk to each other. (I swear, I hate texting. Every time someone sends me a text message, I feel my eyes roll clear to the back of my head. But I'll save that for another post.)

Now we fast forward to the present. School is back in, marching band is going full force, and Danielle and T are best buddies, talking again, hanging out in the same group, just having fun. I smell something going on. So this past Monday, while I was at work, T's mom drops him off at our house, under the pretense that he has a birthday present for Kylie. Actually, he did bring Kylie a birthday card and some Hershey bars. However, the real reason for the visit became apparent when he presented Danielle with a single, long-stemmed rose, and a homemade, single layer cake with white frosting that T had apparently made himself. The cake had blue sprinkles and a message: "Will you go to homecoming with me?" This is about where I pass out. He asked her to homecoming with a message on a homemade cake. Has anyone ever done anything that sweet for you? Because for me, no. But seriously, the only thing I can think of is that they'll get back together, then after band is over, she's going to get bored again and break up with him yet again. I don't want her breaking this poor boy's heart again. I asked her when I got home Monday night (and she was still up!):

"Dan, do you remember why you broke up with T in the first place?"

As thoughtfully as a blonde can, she said to me, "Ummm...not really."

"Well, let me refresh your memory. You were bored. His mom wouldn't let him do anything. You wanted to hang out with your friends. Remember?"

"Ummhmmm. Well, Mom, he's more fun now! And he got taller! (Ok, she didn't really say that, but I know she's thinking it.) And before I just thought there was someone better out there, but now I know that there isn't!" (Because she's gone out with all of two people) "He just set the bar really high Mom...I don't know if anyone else can measure up!"

"I'm just afraid that when band is over, you're going to remember why you broke up with him, and the same thing will happen all over again. You don't want his mom putting a hit out on you, do you?"

At this point, we are both laughing, and she's been texting with T and she jokingly sends him a text that says something like "My mom likes you more than she likes me!" Ha ha ha.

I don't know where this will all lead, but I just hope she doesn't break his heart again. I'm not kidding when I say this is like, the nicest, sweetest kid ever. (And he's cute, too!) So Tuesday night, I'm at work, and I get an email from Danielle with a link in it. The link is to the store Forever 21, and she's showing me a dress. The title of the email says "Mom, I just wanted to show you this, but I'm not asking for it!"

Um, yeah. Where is this all leading? Where everything always leads eventually. Straight to my wallet.