My youngest
daughter is at a friend's house, just two doors down, with six other tween
girls getting ready to attend her first school dance.

It's her first girl/boy dance and she's excited.

In a few minutes, she will come home so I can do her hair for the
event. 

While she's here I need to find a minute to talk to my daughter
about the boys who are going to be at tonight's dance.

My youngest has grown up watching High School Musical and more
recently, a few episodes of Glee so I feel like I should warn her that the
tween boys she is going to meet tonight might not behave exactly like the boys
she's been watching on TV.

There will probably be no young boys asking her to dance or gazing
into her eyes to tell she is beautiful tonight. (But, they should because
she IS beautiful).

What I really need to tell my girl is that most, okay, ALL of the
boys she meets at tonight’s dance will probably be um, goofballs. 

Nice boys, yes, but at twelve and thirteen years old?

They'll be goofballs.

The boys will probably stand on one side of the gym, throw things
at each other, and not even pay attention to the girls.

Honestly, my daughter needs to not even really consider a boy to
be a BOY until she’s almost eighteen because until then, in my experience,
they’re all goofballs.

Actually, some guys are goofballs for a good long time after
they're eighteen too.

But, because my daughter is almost thirteen?

I'm pretty sure she's not going to hear a word I say on the
subject.

Sigh.