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Last weekend we had dinner at a friend's house.  They have two little girls, one exactly Jack's age, and a newborn.  I guess we will have to be each other's ying and yang, our two boys to their two girls.  It's always really interesting watching their daughter and our son interact.  Physically she is half Jack's size, but you almost don't notice it based on her tendency to speak like an adult.  Shortly after we arrived, and dressed in her princess gown, she approached Jack and said squarely "Jack, let's dance."

Jack responded, "But I don't want to dance!"   She said, "I would like to DANCE. WITH. YOU." in a manner that clearly stated this was not open for negotiation.  Jack looked at us with panicky alarm, not sure how to deal with this miniature, authoritative-sounding, ballerina.

Watching this, it occurred to me that Jack plays with a lot of boys, who don't tend to have "conversations," rather they engage in active physical play, with shrieking, and silly mimicking.  Even the girls he usually plays with tend to the physical play over the verbal discussions, so watching him hold a conversation with a peer was fascinating.

The daughter changed tactics and suggested Jack and she read books.  I have always been an avid reader, so I have made reading several books, twice a day, a ritual for Jack.  While Jack enjoys and expects this, I can't say he ever demands to be read to as his preferred form of entertainment outside of these windows.   Jack looked at her like she was crazy, snatched up a big plastic bus and move to the other side of the room to play with its wheels.  Giving up on Jack, she turned to me and requested she and I read instead.  She dragged me over to a chair, curled up next to me in her pixie dress and kept rapt attention to my every word.  It was like interacting with a different species.

Jack half-listened from afar, stealing glances at us every so often, clearly unsure of how he felt about how this night "was going down."  As for me, I felt that pang again.  I adore  my little rugged guy who can be sweet as honey for "his best friend mommy," but little boys  and little girls are so different, I really want them both.  Though I have been told, a few  visits with some friends with teenage girls will provide an immediate cure.