don't move till after the second flash! little kids have alot of energy. i love little kids, i get along with little kids, i am a little kid. we had lunch today with some people and among them were two little girls, aged ten and eleven. they've been over to our house alot before to watch television (we get the cartoon network, they don't) but i was always going in or out and never really hung out with them much. at lunch today they were very subdued quiet little gals. then we started to strike up a conversation, about harry potter, summer school and what types of things are all the rage in middle school nowadays. i need to know to be cool with my ten year old demographic of course.



apparently ten year olds need cell phones because they have a "phone zone" area at the school where you can use your cellphones. you have to turn off your phone in class though of course, because that might get in the way of arithmetic and history and you know, school. tell me something, what do little kids need cell phones for? they don't drive, they see who they need to see everyday, what the heck are they needing phones for? to call the parents? that's a semi-valid reason, but kids don't need to be using the phone at school. "hi, i'm in mr shepard's class, this is real boring, wanna meet up at milk break?" i didn't even get a pager till near the very end of high school and now kids want phones? the world is a changing. it's kind of scary actually. they said that boys "sag and wear chains and sunglasses" and that girls "ride their shorts up as high as they can." i think we forget, as young adults, how much certain things can influence us as we are growing up. i scoff at "violence in video games" adversely affecting our youth but then i see how jaded ten year olds can be about blood and guts in halo, and it's kind of scary. they have some good hand eye coordination though. i think they picked up the whole first person shooter thing faster than i ever did. score one for ten year olds. score zero for twenties.



little kids are ridiculously loud too. from shy and quiet to super comfortable and rambunctious in a millisecond. yelling at you, screaming at you, sitting on your lap, tugging you along everywhere, trolling through all your stuff, calling you names like "dummy, ugly, stupid." they even told me i was a "bad example" at one point. they must have gotten the public service announcement before they came over. i think little kids relate to me though (or vice verse), i'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. i'm willing to bet bad since i'm twenty four and they're younger than me combined.



it takes a whole team of us to handle two little girls. no man or woman could possibly have the energy to keep up with kids. you have to be able to pass them off to one other to get some breathing room. the days of "here kiddo, take some candy, shut up" are over. they need to be entertained at every waking second otherwise they might slam wooden hammers into your knees. i'm never having kids. i'll come play with yours but no way in hell am i having any of my own. i always forget too, how much little kids remember, you can't just throw them bs explanations or stories because that stuff will come back to haunt you. "but you said you graduated from college and my mommy said you didn't!" hit me where it hurts kid.



and finally, it's so sad looking at kids when it's time for them to go home. they look all despondent and tiny. their parents are half kicking them out the door, all the "five more minutes mom!" stuff is over and done with, and now they have to leave for real. breaks my heart when the wee ones must scamper off into the night. although it is somewhat of a relief. actually it's a big relief. kids man, gotta love'em.