Puppy Love

"Wee-yam!!!!", "AbbieAbbieAbbie!!!!"

Before now I never once thought I would soon be witnessing a love life for *any* kid of mine, let alone one still wearing diapers.

That was before William and Abigail fell in puppy love...

Believe me, though William's mom is a good friend and a central staple of our social circle, this was in no way an arranged relationship. It sprang naturally, budding in the tender consciousness of two toddlers. By the time Abigail even knew the names of anyone except her own and Shelby's, before she really knew many words at all, she would ask for 'Wee-yam', complete with an impressionistic accent on the 'yam'. 'Wee-yam' constitutes a high percentage of her babyish utterances.

It's been since before Christmas that Abbie kisses William's picture with the utmost delight. I'm told he does the same. It's been months that Abigail picks up the phone, starts babbling in it and fitting "Wee-yam" here and there in her imaginary conversation.

It's sweet in all its innocence. In fact, though they are both cheery kids, the sunshine gets kicked up way high when they get into one of their fits of calling each other's names, when they run after each other, hold hands while jumping on the couch, or laugh together while one leaps and the other dances at Mainly Music. When I strap Abbie in her car seat and tell her "You are going to see William", her lovely face literally gets illuminated by the happiest of expressions. "Wee-yam!!!!", she chirps.

My daughter already gave her first love kiss away, you guessed it -- planted it on William's soft cheek at Wegman's... She already got hugged by her first little special friend. My heart melted, and I so wish I could have taken a picture of those unique moments... But like most special things, they just sneaked up on us. Oh, sure, there's been the occasional lovers fight, when one of the baby kissers gets confused and plants a bite instead... But that's nothing compared to the radiant joy of being together! They enjoy the company of their other friends, sure, but everyone knows they share a special rapport.

As I write this, I can't help but wonder: what does it means for a toddler to "love" another toddler? Heck if I know. I mean, for all their calling each other and laughing together, they're still at the parallel play stage: they want to play with the same exact thing at the same exact time (monkey see monkey do still applies), but aren't ready to share with one another. It makes it for an interesting love conundrum. Love can be cruel and we don't use rose-colored glasses, here.

All logical assessments aside, when they part, or see each other again after a three-day hiatus, I can only describe their plaintive or effervescent "Wee-yam!!!" , "AbbieAbbieAbbie!" as anything but a distinct recognition reserved for an extraordinary friend, not just any buddy.