I’m completely surrounding by testosterone in my house. Don’t get me wrong – I love having five incredibly rambunctious boys…and I enjoy being the lady of the house. We sat down to Friday night dinner this week, and Josh pointed out that there were 8 guys at the table and me. And so it goes.
But, as a person who is really not competitive, I often feel that I’m from a different planet than everyone else. Today, I had to laugh and shake my head while having the following conversation with my oldest, Matan, who is nine.
We were walking home from the park and saw a group of little girls on their way to ballet lessons.
Matan: What are they doing?
Me: They are going to ballet.
Matan: What’s the point of ballet, anyway?
Me: Well, sweetheart, it’s an activity like anything else. Like your karate, or like yoga, basketball, gymnastics…
Matan: (after a long, contemplative pause) But, like, do they have races or something?
Me: What?
Matan: Well, you know, do they have races? How do they know who the best is?
Me: They have performances at the end of the semester or year to show off how well they are all doing.
Matan: Ok…but how do they know who is best?
Deep sigh…will I ever get them to understand that not EVERYTHING in life is a competition?
Probably not, but I will certainly keep trying…