Second Graders One-Upping
Second Graders One-Upping
Current mood: 
amused
First, let me set the stage…
Zack has a friend that I do not approve of. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him this, but months ago I said, “Zack, I know you like him, but I don’t. I don’t like the way he acts or talks because he’s rude, and I don’t want you to be like that. If you like him, that’s OK, but I just don’t.” He said, “I thought you were going to say that I can’t play with him anymore.” I said, “No, you can still play, but I don’t want you to act like him.”
So I kind of fibbed… every week this kid’s mom would call and ask if they could play, but I always had a good excuse handy. Maybe Zack could have played with his friend for an hour before soccer practice, but I didn’t want to put forth the extra effort. She must think soccer practice if three hours long… (ummm, yeah, did I tell you he’s training for the Olympics?).
So I kept having all these really great excuses, and then she kind of tapered off the calls after a while. I got the feeling that I was just free babysitting for her, and I really do have to work sometimes. Just because I stay at home doesn’t mean I’m a good candidate for childcare. It’s bad enough for me to neglect my own kids without me neglecting someone else’s.
And then the most wonderful thing happened! He said, “I’m moving and I’ll never ever see you guys again.” I was taken by surprise. His mom was going to get a divorce and so they were moving… so not the best circumstances. I was able to tell him how sorry I was (because, yeah, divorce sucks, but it sucks eggs if you’re a kid). Inside I was celebrating and it was hard to keep from jumping up and pumping my fist, and landing on bended knee with a tremendous “YES!!”
And then another really great thing happened! Zack got a new best friend who lives just around the corner from our house. He’s nice and says, “Yes, Ma’am” and “Please” and “Thank You” and I LOVE this kid! He’s a little cutie, too, so forgive me for braggin, but Zack’s a little babe magnet himself. They seem to fit better, and he’s a lot closer. He lives on one of the best cul de sacs in the neighborhood.
Last Halloween was our first in this neighborhood, and we encountered a street where all the moms were lined up in chairs at the end of the cul de sac… there were about 10 of them. And all we had to do was go down the line. The ringing of doorbells and the walking was tapered down to one row of the easiest candy ever scored in less than 3 seconds. We had passed the dads from this street and a big group of kids trick o’ treating and I remember thinking how cool it was that they knew their neighbors and got along so well. And if any of the families on this street move, Josh knows that I will be very interested in finding out what it would take to get on this street.
So anyway, Zack started going to his new best friend’s house to play a lot — sometimes three times a week. I was hoping that Zack had lost all interest in the other kid, who had not moved away like he said he would, but Zack said that they were still friends. Apparently, his two friends don’t like each other much, but they both just like Zack.
Well, just when I thought not having to take Zack to soccer today (because it’s Easter week) was a good thing, the old kid’s mom called. I had no real good excuse, and I was starting to feel bad about always shutting her down, so I said he could come over to play.
Now that you have all the background… here’s the reason I wanted to blog in the first place…
Have you ever listened to second graders talk? They beg and plead for you to let them get together and then they just trash talk the whole time. I was standing in the room when somehow they started talking about girlfriends.
Zack said, “J’s my girlfriend.”
And his friend said, “You can’t be serious.”
Zack said, “No, really, I like her and she likes me.”
And his friend said, “You can’t be serious.”
Zack said, “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.”
And his friend said, “I have two girlfriends, but one moved away.”
Whatever, kid, you can’t one-up my son with an invisible girlfriend.
I didn’t want things to get out of hand, so I said, “Zack, you can’t have a girlfriend until you’re 16 years old.” The kid went to the other room, and Zack said, “I know, Mommy, but she’s my future girlfriend.”
“Your future girlfriend? Who is this J girl?”
“She’s the one in my class with really white hair. Remember? I was trading candy with her today?”
“Oh, yeah, I know who you’re talking about.” She’s a cute little thing with really light blonde hair, so light that it looks white, and I remember when she was the new girl in the class at the beginning of the school year. Zack came home and told me her name and that she was new in the class and everybody liked her. I asked him if she was cute and he just kind of looked at me and didn’t know what to say. I guess he grew up a little bit because he’s suddenly become boyfriend material.
Zack said, “She’s really nice. And so’s her mom,” and then he ran out to catch up with his punk friend.
As it turns out, this punk kid is still rude, but his mom is working out her marriage and not getting a divorce. Which is really great news right? But I got one up on that — they might be moving across the lake.
Woo hoo!
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Currently listening : Tragic Kingdom By No Doubt Release date: By 10 October, 1995 |
Posted on April 5th, 2007 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids