B is for Boys...and Belligerence

Boys. Boys are different from girls. In absolutely amazing ways. Ways that you would never think of until you have two of them and really see them in action. Especially when interacting with other boys.

Mayhem is in Pre-K. It's the first time he has ever been in any type of formal (or informal) schooling and he goes for three hours a day, five days a week. There are nine boys and four girls in his class - the boys outnumber the girls two to one, which I find unusual having grown up in a school environment where the exact opposite was typically the case. This is also the case at home where I am outnumbered THREE to one. Well, six to two if you count the critters, but that still boils down to three to one...WAY too much testosterone under one roof.

I digress.

So the school has been preparing us for Daddy Night since the first week of Pre-K. It has been very well hyped and built up. The moms usually do everything with the kids, so this is going to be a special night for the kids to bring their daddies so the daddies can see their classroom and meet their teachers and see what the kids do in school every day since they're usually left out, poor daddies. The entire week before was dedicated to getting ready - paint Daddy, talk about Daddy, look at family pictures, write about Daddy. So with all the preparation you'd think there would be a plan, right? A scheduled program with maybe a craft together or snack together or SOMETHING together, right?  Nope. It was come in and the daddies will chat together while the kids play together in any station they choose.

When the moms get together with the kids, there is order (mostly) and the kids all play nicely together and the event flows smoothly from beginning to middle to end where everyone hugs and says goodbye and we'll see you soon before exiting to the parking lot and getting into cars where we'll discuss our outing on the way home.

I digress.

Again.

So what happened while the daddies were chatting? The girls played together nicely, while the boys.........made guns out of the kinects/legos and ran around crazedly killing each other. When the guns were taken away from them (not because they were guns...they're boys...they can make ANYTHING into a gun, but because they were being so rough the teachers were genuinly afraid someone was going to get stabbed in an eye), they created one massive dog pile of flailing, wrestling arms and legs. It was utter pandemonium until "snack time," which turned out to be solid sugar and liquid sugar.....oh, excuse me, brownies and lemonade. And then eventually one of the daddies said, "Uh, we're going to head home now," which prompted a mass exodus from the facility.

So how did they enjoy their chaotic night that to me was a letdown after all of the hype? 

"WE LOVED IT!!!"

Boys. Boys are different from girls. In absolutely amazing ways.