It’s good to know that no matter how times change, some things never will.
Like slumber parties.
Don’t get me wrong…
There were some differences.
Like the texting and the cell phones.
But other than that, it could have been a slumber party from my youth.
Monkey Girl has really, really nice friends and they got along beautifully.
We kept it small, and I believe that helped keep everyone happy.
There were teeny-bopper magazines, some dancing, some singing, and just general girl talk.
Monkey in the Middle was policing the event, for awhile, and at one point, came upstairs, shaking his head and mumbling “Inappropriate language.”
We asked what he was talking about and he put his hands over his ears and said, “The girls are using inappropriate language.”
I was a little a surprised, because that’s really not the M.O. of these girls, so I asked “What are they saying?”
He leaned in close and whispered, “They said ‘stupid’ and ‘idiot.'”
I breathed a sigh of relief and then said, “You are right…that is definitely inappropriate language. Thanks for letting us know.”
There were Mad Libs, and snacks, pizza, sundaes, and four clogged toilets.
As the hours passed, we kept waiting for the volume to lessen, but it didn’t.
So, I began the first of a few treks to the top of the basement stairs to let them know that, perhaps, it was time to wind down.
Real Man and I stayed in the living room, alternately watching television and muting it to listen in on their conversations.
I held my breath when I heard someone say, “Let’s Play ‘Never Have I Ever!'”
I breathed again when I heard them saying things like, “Never Have I Ever eaten five pieces of pizza!”
And then we laughed out loud when we heard Monkey Girl, who does not have a cell phone or iTouch and has been making the hard case for one since the summer, say “Never Have I Ever owned an Apple product.”
By 1:30, there were just a few whispers left, and the sounds of sleeping girls took over the rest of the basement, so we headed up to bed.
And at 6:30, the peals of 10/11 year old girl laughter began to ring out throughout the house, once again.
They got some doughnuts in their system and were ready for an hour long game of Sardines, which, (for the uninitiated), is Hide-and-Seek, but only one person hides. If you find them, you hide with them. When the next person finds the two of you, they hide with you, etc., until there is only one seeker left.
Then, there was about an hour of regular Hide-and-Seek.
The boys played with them, and the girls were sweet to pretend not to see Baby Monkey as he hid in super secret hiding spots, like under the coffee table, or just stood really still, apparently thinking he was being stalked by a group of T-Rexes (who, as ANYONE who has seen Jurassic Park knows, can’t see you if you don’t move).
And then there was Tiny Time.
They all sat in a circle in our empty dining room and just kind of passed Tiny around.
He loved it and did some of his best flirting.
Then, the girls got distracted with one of his toys and decided to play hot potato. That lasted for about 45 minutes.
And then, they rolled up their sleeping bags, got dressed and said their goodbyes.
The house will is quieter without them, but I’ll miss those girls.
Maybe it’s the teacher in me who is used to never having less than 25 kids around me at all times, or maybe it’s the Mama in me who loves a house full of happy, laughing children.
But I enjoyed that slumber party just as much as Monkey Girl did.
I’d go down to check on them and come up with a big, stupid (forgive my language, Monkey in the Middle) grin on my face. Real Man would ask what I was grinning about and I’d say “Just the slumber party. They seem to be having a really good time.”
No one cried, had hurt feelings, got sick, had their underwear frozen or their hand dipped in warm water.
And really..what more can you ask for?
