Some things just never change.
Temperatures soared to unseasonal heights, so we thought we'd make the most of what may have been the last hot Saturday of the year. As the water slide inflated, it was obvious we had made a good decision. A gaggle of kids stood dancing nearby, squirmy with anticipation. Setting up the water slide that day at the backyard cookout gave our group of bloggers and neighbors several hours of peace as it kept that gaggle of kids busy, busy, busy.
We didn't so much as hear a peep from the kids, which pretty much made it the best picnic ever. It's always nice to get to chat without interruption from short people, so that's what we did. We talked and we laughed and we talked some more, not even pausing to take any photographs of the gleeful kids. They were off doing their thing, politely taking turns going down the slide and self-policing in a way that only well-mannered kids can.
Eventually the odds became a bit skewed as there were five girls playing and only one boy. Things had been closer to even earlier in the day, but the youngest of the kids had grown weary fast. Once the younger kids had departed, the dynamic of the play instantly changed. The group of 5-8 year olds became more competitive, more daring, and even more crazy in their play than they had been before. And then came the moment when the lone boy realized he was the lone boy.
And just like that, it became obvious that some things never changed.
We parents looked on as the one boy did what all boys do when surrounded by a group of cute girls--he started to show off. It started with some Spiderman-like climbing up the side, but when that didn't impress, he went for broke. He grabbed hold of the sprayer and began taunting the girls with it, purposely twisting it so that it would spray them in the faces.
In a completely predictable moment, the girls shrieked and ran away, only to return moments later for more torment. Of course, the boy was happy to oblige because if there is one things the male species learns early, it's that it's fun to torture girls with the same shenanigans over and over again.
After the fourth or fifth attempt to climb the slide without being assaulted by the boy with the sprayer, the girls grew annoyed. They clamored over to us so that they could tattle. Because, surely, no girl has ever done THAT before.
We debated whether or not we should intervene for a moment, but because the mother of the boy didn't seem concerned that he was dancing on the line between good fun and malicious intent, we gave the girls an idea.
"Ignore the boy," we said. "Just go play in another part of the yard."
It took all of ten seconds for the boy to put on his Annoyed Face. How dare the girls ignore him! HOW DARE THEY!
He ran off to chase them and to try to find a new way to torment them, but the girls had learned that their mothers were right. Ignoring would work. They glanced our way before stomping over to yet another part of the yard, never giving the boy so much as a glance.
Which, of course, made the boy mad. He stomped towards them, desperate for attention, but the girls kept walking away without a word.
The whole production lasted maybe ten minutes before all of the kids grew tired of the Gender Games and resumed playing nicely on the slide. But, those ten minutes, they were like a chapter out of the book of Things Have Always Been This Way.
Some things just never change.
