My son, the pick up artist

I always used to think it was sort of funny/sort of weird when moms of baby boys would say that they were “flirting” with me. I never heard anyone describe her baby girl’s smiling at someone as her being a little flirt. But, now that I am the mama of a total playa, I get it. He IS flirting with women. He looks at them, smiles, waits for them to smile, looks away for a few seconds, catches their eye and smiles again…if a woman stops paying attention to him midway through his game, he will just stare at her until the whole cycle begins anew. Although he does smile and play nice with the males, you can tell he's just going through the motions.

I’ve been watching this process (a bit too intently-I am on vacation after all) and definitely notice that he seems to care much more when the object of his smiles is a PYT. This boy has got some taste. It’s hilarious to watch our little Casanova work his charm.

The other day I met him and his dad at the breakfast buffet line after having gone to spin class (the effects of which were promptly canceled out by my eating enough for four at said buffet). When I walked up, I caught Mr. Monk in a serious smiling contest with a lovely teenage girl behind them on line. He was so beguiled (and beguiling) that he wouldn’t even look over at me until the girl turned back to her friends. I called his name and tried to get his attention, but he wasn’t about to let me cramp his style. Now I know I wasn’t looking too hot, being that I almost died in spin (grab another gear!), but am I already being passed over for the ladies? I suddenly had visions of my little man as someone’s prom date, boyfriend, husband. And then I realized how much I get to help shape the way he treats people. My son will be one of those rare guys who actually calls/emails/texts when he says he will, and he will be man enough to have that awkward break up convo rather than just fade away. My mother-in-law may not have taught my husband how to pick up his socks, but she taught him to be kind. I hope someday someone can say the same thing about me. And I know he'll clean up after himself because his mother is a neurotic neat freak.