x times y is not that complicated

"Which is easier, boys or girls?" It's a question that's been debated since the chicken and the egg fighting over who came first. Having one of each (a son and daughter, not a chicken and an egg - although I do have eggs, and I'm not against chicken ownership entirely, but...nevermind) I might seem qualified to weigh in with credibility, but most of the time I would probably say "neither" as it depends on the situation. For instance, when it comes to the issue of change my "Y" chromosome has far more resilience. When I mention to my "XX" chromosome that the house needs a new paint job, she defends its current color and later on during family prayer emphasizes to the heavens above that "...we are thankful for our beautiful home." Yet she always agrees with me when I say they need a bath, while my son remains content with wearing socks that can stand up on their own.

But one area that men and boys seem to have some stereotypical truth, and that I feel qualified to vouch for is that they're really not very complicated. As a woman, I keep trying to find out if this is true and not just something society is trying to impose with "Everybody Loves Raymond" reruns by cornering my husband and asking things like, "Really? Food and lovin' and you're TOTALLY happy. That's it? Those previously advertised phrases like 'love long walks on the beach' was just for show?" He seems to search for more because he feels like he should and then smiles as if to say, "Uhhhh...pretty much."

Lately I have noticed that this simplicity trait starts young, as exemplified in my seven-year-old bundle of testosterone wielding cap guns. Here's a little sampling from the last few weeks.

* While messing around with my iTunes playlist he selected some "Blake Lewis" songs we downloaded after watching American Idol:
Drew: "Hey Mom, can you guess who my favorite singer is?"
Me: "Um, Blake Lewis?"
Drew: "Yeah."

* Playing with his new Harry Potter wand:
D: "Hey mom, can you guess what my new favorite toy is?"
Me: "Could it be...your Harry Potter wand?"
D: [exhaling as if to signify defeat] "Yeeeeess."

* Listening to my iPod:
D: "Hey mom, do you know what I want really bad for Christmas?"
Me: "Let me see, is it an iPod??"
D: "Yep."

*And finally, last night as we sat at the dinner table and enjoyed the perfect watermelon:
D: "Hey Samantha, what's your favorite fruit?"
S: "Mangoes."
D: "Do you know what mine is?"
S: "Uh, watermelon?"
D: "Yep."

As fate would have it, in the middle of writing this post I was interrupted by the other "XX" chromosome in my house who asked, "Is that your blog?" "Yes," I replied. "Oh. What are you writing about?" How you don't want to paint the house and if we ever move I will have to use the equity in our home to pay for your professional counseling and that your brother loves watermelon. "The difference between boys and girls," I said. "Oh, that's easy," she interjected. "Boys are annoying and girls...well, I guess they can get sassy sometimes."

Ah...so simple. I wish I'd thought of that.