Friday, October 10, 2008

What's in a name?


Boyfriend.

Just the word itself is a touchy subject in our house.

First of all, my husband does not approve of boyfriends, and so has forbidden the use of the word in his presence.

On top of my husband's arbitrary objection to the word, we have my daughters' finicky use of the very same word - for if, for some reason, I refer to a certain young man as a boyfriend, and he is not officially her boyfriend, I will get reprimanded for incorrect usage of the word. But, if - on the other hand - she has declared him (out of her father's earshot, of course) her boyfriend and I simply refer to him as a friend, I will get reprimanded for that as well.

So when, exactly, does a person she's dating become a boyfriend? What actions or words have to occur before he qualifies for the upgrade?

Does feeding him dinner three nights in a row make him a boyfriend?

Does a $474 monthly cell phone bill make him a boyfriend?

Does a father walking downstairs to his family room and discovering his teenage daughter lying side-by-side with this young man on the couch qualify him as a boyfriend???? (From the look on her father's face when he came back up, it qualified him as a fiance!!!)

Boyfriend or not, that certain young man seems to be around a lot.

I think I'll just call him her hungry, talkative, couch-sharer from now on.