Mark spent spring break at a local day camp, doing what he loves best -- playing sports and getting filthy. He was recounting his adventures one day, and inadvertently gave me a lesson on the different communication styles of males and females. That's right, I got schooled in boy talk.
"My friends and I were playing football, and --" he started, but I interrupted him.
"Friends from school?" I asked.
"No, my new friends," he answered.
"What are their names?" I asked. (We've had many failed lessons about proper introductions. I was hoping maybe a lesson had stuck.)
But Mark just shrugged.
"Did you ask any of their names?" I asked, cringing inside. When little girls play together, they immediately give their names, plus the names of their parents, siblings', best friends, pets, neighbors, and favorite toys all in the first two minutes. You also learn their age, favorite color, food, book, toy, doll, and school, plus their grade, teacher, and classmates' names. I continually forget boys are not like girls.
Mark shook his head. "I forgot to ask their names," he said.
"Well, how do you get their attention then, if you don't know their names?" I persisted.
Mark just looked at me, raised his hands up as if to catch a football, and in his slowest, you-are-so-dim voice, said, "Hey, over here, pass it to me!" He simulated a catch, then a throw to another imaginary kid, and smiled smugly at me.
And so I drove on, trying not to laugh out loud. I also made a mental note not to underestimate boy communication any more. Because maybe he didn't get all the fine details (like names), but he had a blast anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment