Oh Boy!!!

Is there really a difference between boys and girls? I mean, besides the obvious.

Some people say boys are easier to raise than girls. Others argue girls are by far the simpler species. While still others say boys are easier until the teen years, then your sweet little girl becomes a rage of hormones and there is no hope for peace. And there are those who say kids are kids, regardless of gender, and if you can understand one you can understand them all. Yeah, right.
I'm here to say, there is a difference. I see it in my own kids every day. But I got the biggest kick out of the differences I saw in other people's kids this weekend.

Friday afternoon Joshua asked if he could invite his best friend over to spend the night. Spur of the moment plans like this one don't often work out, but this time it did and Joshua's friend came over to visit. This little boy is so well-behaved and polite I am happy to have him over any time. He is also so well-behaved and polite I don't always think of him as a typical boy. He changed my impression Friday night.
After we'd watched our Friday night movie and they'd had a chance to play awhile I told all the kids it was time for bed. Of course they were reluctant, but they eventually made it upstairs and got settled into bed. As I came back downstairs, expecting them to go to sleep soon (oh, silly me) I sat down to talk with my husband and got an ear-full from upstairs. The boys - all of them - were making the biggest, juiciest farting noises I've ever heard. And you should have heard the laughter accompanying the noise. The thing is, I think Joshua's friend was the biggest instigator of the whole event. My husband and I just looked at each other, laughed, and said, "They're boys!"

On Saturday, the big event was Matthew's birthday party. He turned seven on Friday and was excited to be having his first ever "friend birthday party." Creating the guest list for his party was a task Matthew took very seriously, and he thought it wise to consult with his older and more experienced siblings.
Matthew wanted to invite one little girl from his class, who is his good friend, but he wasn't so interested in having any other girls come. Elizabeth and Joshua avised him this little girl might feel odd, being the only girl, and thought he should invite other girls or at the very least inform this friend of the fact she was the only girl on the guest list. Matthew went with the second option and was pleased to report back that this girl "was OK with it." I'd heard opinions from other parents that this girl wasn't very "girly" and wondered how she would compare to the boys.
Let me say, "girly" or not, she confirmed for me there is a difference between boys and girls even before the teen years. This young lady was the first guest to arrive and she promptly followed me past the hanging streamers and floor covered with balloons into the play room, found a book and started reading. She told me how much she enjoys sitting and reading books, and I thought, Oh, how peaceful.
Within moments, the other guests started arriving. The boys came into the house, ran back and forth between the rooms which had streamers hanging in the doorway, found the big bouncy balls and started jumping on them. They were loud and having tons of fun just yelling, for no apparent reason except to see who could be loudest.
When it was time to play a game, the boys were all pushing to be first and the little girl said, "I'll go last." Similarly, when it was time to open presents the boys were eagerly saying, "Open mine first," and even ripping into the presents themselves.
I sat back observing the situation, not thinking badly of the boys, just marveling at the stark difference I saw between the two genders. We are all created in the image of God. How can it be we are so different?
I don't think I'll ever understand the answer to that question, and I'm almost resigned to the fact I'll never really understand boys. Oh, I'll keep trying. Rumor has it there are some good books out there which would be helpful. And I can always ask my husband, "Is that just a boy thing?"
But for anyone who really believes kids are kids and that's that, I beg to differ. And for those who say boys are easier to raise than girls, I disagree. OK, maybe I'll change my tune in a couple years when Elizabeth becomes a teenager, but for now I am a proponent for the Girls Are Easier camp.

What's your opinion???