There’s something undeniably sweet about witnessing young love take root for the first time.

When a middle schooler found herself smitten, her mother took it as a chance to lean in with warmth rather than worry, and the result was truly delightful.

You’ll want to read on for this sweet story.

Daughter’s first “boyfriend”

My daughter had her first boyfriend.

She’s in middle school and it’s lasted a couple of weeks now, so it’s pretty serious as far as pre-teen relationships go.

I’ve managed to get past my initial panic to remember how big of a deal my first “boyfriend” was.

She decided she wanted to approach this situation very thoughtfully.

I’ve decided to not be too overbearing, as my reaction to her first relationship is going to shape how she talks to me about future ones. I don’t want her to feel like she can’t talk to me, so I’m supportive and casually curious when I talk to her about it.

So far, it’s all goo-goo eyes and butterflies.

When she finally met the guy, it was delightfully awkward in all the right ways.

She introduced me to him a couple nights ago, though sort of by accident. He saw us at the local grocery store and came up to say hi.

She turned red as could be and covered her face, so afraid that I was going to interrogate or yell at the kid. I shook his hand and introduced myself.

He was super polite and seemed really nice.

My favorite thing was him turning back to her to tell her, “Told you it wasn’t going to be that bad.” I’m not gonna lie, I laughed at that.

She could tell just how happy her daughter was — and that made her happy too.

She came home today after spending some time walking around our little town with him, and she just couldn’t stop smiling.

She even asked me, “Have you ever felt so happy you could just burst?” when she got home before practically skipping to her room.

Puppy love is just the cutest thing.

There’s nothing better than seeing your child so happy.

What did Reddit make of all this?

This commenter admires this mothers’ composure in the face of a situation that would have many parents freaking out.

Being protective doesn’t mean you can’t give your kids a little breathing room.

This daughter shows an openness with her mother that’s very sweet.

This mother is setting up her daughter very well for a healthy attitude on dating.

As a parent, all you can hope for is that your kids feel safe, supported, and joyful — and this mother and daughter are off to a great start.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.