Window Shopping

Last night, Jack was going to his first girl-boy party.

So, while Jack struggled to figure out the opposite sex, Jim and I decided to take a walk down Main Street in Old Ellicott City which is the town right near our home. All the stores were closed but it was fun peeking in the windows...










I was particularly fond of these two handmade ladies...


When we finally picked up Jack, he was all wound up. It turns out we weren't the only ones window shopping. It turns out that he sat with groups of girls throughout the night -- but he didn't say anything. He was listening though... Here's some of what he said...

"Mom, I'm really proud of myself. I've really gotten better...this time, I could actually sit with a group of girls and be around them!"

"It was really easy. They all just start talking...I didn't have to do anything."

"Girls talk way different than boys. I was sitting out by the firepit, which was good, because all these girls came and sat around and started talking. That was a lot of work Mom. They talk way different than boys...I mean, a boy says something at lunch and everybody listens or...we interrupt...BUT there's usually only one guy talking at at time. Girls are all talking at once and there was like 5 different conversations going on..." Jack hangs his head, shaking it back and forth in disbelief.

Me: "Jack, did you actually talk to any girls?"

"Yeah, one girl asked me my name, how old I was, what grade I was in, where I go to school..."

"Well, did you ask her anything about herself?"

"God Mom, I was afraid I was going to say something and mess it up and she would think I'm stupid."

"Well, Jack, let me tell you a secret about girls. We love a guy even more when we can tell he's nervous but tries to talk to us. Girls happen to be more empathetic than boys and they're likely to sense your uneasiness and try to make you more comfortable. Give it a try. The problem with not saying anything at all...it makes them think you're not interested in them at all so then they get self-conscious and then you're both standing there being self-conscious..."

"Oh yeah, Mom, and then nobody says anything...which is death. It says that in the Dangerous Book for Boys...But I really think I did better this time. Yup, I'm getting better..."

"Good night, Jack."

"Ok, yeah, good night...but Mom I'm warnin' ya...I'm gonna probably be talking about this for days!"

I hope he figures it out or, at least, some girl figures him out...that might be easier.

As for me, Santa has put me in the Remedial Program for Procrastinating Elves. I'm happy to say that it's working but I can't show you what I'm making this week because they're surprises for Christmas day...

Stay tuned for the week after Christmas when I promise to show a Parade of Presents -- one each day. Until then, maybe I can squeeze in a sneak peak or two.

On another note, I completely lost my email inbox history on Friday...if you emailed me anytime Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, I'm likely not to have received what you sent so please resend if it's important!

Back to the workshop...