4th of July

The fact that I am not a big fan of 4th of July is no secret to most of my friends. Loud firecrackers scare me and I hide from the sound of fireworks like a little scared dog. Red meat, baked beans and barbecue sauce are permanently off my menu, and drunk people shouting out national anthems into the night are not my favorite companions.

This year, though, we were invited to a friend's barbecue. She has a son just six months younger and Jonah. The boys have been friends since birth. To add to the festivities, my friend's parents, visiting from Korea, and her sister, brother-in-law and nieces, in town from Texas, were all there. These pre-teen girls just loved Jonah. They kicked a soccer ball around with him, read to him, jumped around with him... In short, Jonah was in heaven. What a fun day! We've met up with these girls a few times and every time, Jonah has had a blast. I had no idea he would take to girls eight and ten years older than he is. Surprise, surprise. More pictures here.

The day after 4th of July, an old family friend came to visit from Seattle with her twelve-year-old daughter and her daughter's friend. I had never seen anyone as rude as these young girls were. No thank-you's when offered something, just a plain no with a snarl. No eye contact. The girls just ate and slept at our house, ignored Jonah when he made attempts to talk to them and play with them, yet at the same time they sweet-talked our cats.

I was so stunned that I could hardly sleep the night they stayed over. The ruder girl of the two came from a privileged family and apparently has no idea what gratitude and manners are. It felt as if she had polluted our house with her bad attitude. I actually fantasized about kicking the girls out, but one can't really do that to kids. I felt sad for Jonah who so looked forward to having visitors. Compared to our 4th-of-July friends, these girls were monsters. I hope my son never behaves as ungratefully.