Monday, December 15, 2008

A whole different breed

This past weekend was a busy one. My sister, who clearly has a hole in her head, threw two kids parties in two days.

The first party was the annual gingerbread house decorating party that she has for my niece. She invites all the little girls in my niece's class (this year 4th graders) and a handful of other friends, all with their mothers and sisters, to come over and decorate a house. This year there were about 30 girls plus the moms. Sound like bedlam? Not really. It went more like this:

Yes, it was nice. Okay, crowded but nice. The girls and the moms were all happy and everyone got along.

The second party was a birthday party for my nephew. All the little boys, and their mothers, were invited to this party. In attendance were eight kindergarten age boys. Eight. I have to keep reminding myself that there were only eight boys there. This party went something like this:

Boys everywhere! Bouncing off the walls, the furniture and each other. They screamed, they flew, they tormented the dogs. It was shock and awe. Not being used to boys, I felt like my head was going to explode.

Where were the moms during this time, one might ask? They were in the same room, having lovely conversations with each other. Somehow, they have adapted to the point that they are able to completely block out the noise and destruction. It's like they had a sixth sense about when to notice - usually just before the shattering of glass and the cracking of walls. I watched in amazement as these women chatted away as if they didn't have a care in the world. How do I learn how to do that?

On second thought, maybe I don't want to learn that skill. It must take years to master and I just don't think I'd survive the training. Moms of boys, hats off to you!

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