Kiss the Girls

I collected Air-Bear from school. She was on the swings with some of her friends.

AirBear: Mom, you know what?

Me: What?

AirBear: Michael and Liam kissed me today.

Liam was on the other swing. Smiling sweetly. His freckles shimmered in the sunshine.

Me: Liam? Did you kiss Airy?

Liam: Uh -huh! - His smile was melting.

Me: You know, if you want to kiss Airy, you have to ask her daddy first!

Liam: Ok - his smile was unwavering.

We headed towards the car.

"You know you shouldn't let all the boys kiss you," I said. "You should have some restraint!"

"Restraint?" she scrunched up her nose. "What's that?"

"Exactly!" I bundled her into the car, where her sister started lecturing her.

"Airy," she berated her sibling, "You can't just let the boys kiss you. You have to first ask them if they want to kiss you. And then, if they say 'Yes', you have to ask them if they are sick. If they are sick then they can't kiss you, because you'll get their germs."

AirBear was taking all this in with wide eyes. "What if they aren't sick?" she asked, almost breathlessly.

"Well," continued her coach. "If they aren't sick then," she caught my eye in the rear-view mirror. "If they aren't sick, then they still can't kiss you. They have to ask Daddy."

See? Indoctrination does work.