THE WISEST man I know is not a man at all. He’s a 9-year-old boy named Solomon, and he happens to be my son.
Until the other day, I thought he was just a regular boy. His room was dirty. His clothes were dirty. And if we hadn’t imposed our will on him to spare ourselves the funk of pre-tween B.O., his body would have been dirty, too. The fact of the matter is, boys love dirt, and my son is no exception.
But now he’s growing up, so I’ve been watching and waiting for the proverbial lightbulb to switch on – the one that tells boys it’s time to be loved by someone other than their parents. That lightbulb is already shining brightly for one of my son’s classmates, who apparently has the hots for one of Solomon’s little female friends.
The boy moved in on the young lady about a week ago and asked for a kiss. I asked Solomon if he felt like his classmate was trying to steal his girl.
“No,” he said. “I just like her as a friend.”
I asked him if he wanted a girlfriend at some point.
“No,” he said. “It’s too much trouble.”
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Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon
