"Hey, babe"

Here's something I wrote for some friends after I came back from the TIGS San Francisco community service day back in November:

*****

"Hey, babe."

That's what one of my junior high boys from church said to Alicia yesterday. Let me back up.

My junior highers and I were in San Francisco yesterday for a community service day, and on the way back, one thing led to another, and...well, we ended up trying to prank-call some of my college friends using my cell phone. :) (Since Caller ID would have displayed my name, and the recipient would have heard a bunch of silly and/or giggling junior highers, I think my college friends would have taken it all in fun.)

Most of the people whom we tried to call didn't pick up, but finally, Alicia picked up the phone. One of the junior high boys had dialed and was holding the phone, and the first thing he said when she picked up was, "Hey, babe."

I started freaking out.

My junior highers started cracking up. Loudly.

After a few seconds, he-who-held-the-phone passed it back to me, and I explained the situation to Alicia. "We were prank calling some of my friends, but I wasn't expecting him to say that!!!!" The junior highers started cracking up again when they heard that.

*

Why did I start freaking out? My junior highers didn't ask me, but if they'd asked me, I might have said something that they might understand more fully as they grow older. I might have said something like this:

Hearts are like dynamite; don't play with them. Saying, "Hey, babe" to one of my friends is a very minor infraction, to be sure; all the same, I don't want you doing that to any of my friends.

(Have I always thought this way? No.
Have I always acted this way? No.
But do I want to protect my sisters' hearts? Yes.)

Update: Alicia responds. :)