How girls communicate
Girls have a funny way of communicating. Sometimes they say or do weird things that don’t make much sense.
For example: after gymnastics last week we were getting in the car and Mariana said, “Gym was weird today.”
Then Madeline yelled, “Get your bag off my seat!” And she broke down and started crying. Real tears and everything.
Weird, right? WTF is going on? Did Madeline just start crying like a 2 year old because Mariana’s bag was on her side of the car? You might just explain it by saying the two girls are insane. But if you look a little closer, you can see the causes of what’s going on.
First of all, you have to have seen what happened in gymnastics. It wasn’t anything major. Every week the girls practice different moves, like front walk-over, pikes, dive-rolls, etc. And if the instructors think they have mastered a certain move, then they get to go on to the next move. Now, since Madeline is older and slightly more coordinated than Mariana, she is generally a move or two ahead of Ana. And in general, because Madeline is almost 4 years older, she is usually better at everything— soccer, dance, reading, etc. So usually there’s no real rivalry between sisters.
But as the Chinese know, older is not actually an advantage for gymnastics. Littler and skinnier is actually an advantage. So Mariana has actually caught up to Madeline. And last week she passed on to the next move before Madeline did. It wasn’t a big deal or anything. They don’t announce it, the parents and other kids were oblivious, and probably the instructors didn’t even notice Mariana passed before Madeline.
And there was no celebration, no tears, no outward sign that either girl knew that Ana passed before Madeline. The whole class went on as usual. But I guarentee Madeline and Mariana noticed. And 30 minutes later in the car, it all came out.
So now that you know the back story, I can translate the breaking point exchange for you:
Mariana: “Gym was weird today”=I am proud that I passed to back hand spring before Madeline.
Madeline: “Get your bag off my seat!”=I resent that you are throwing it in my face that you passed before me, and I am upset and ashamed that you being almost 4 years younger than me have surpassed me in gymnastics. I am sad.
I’m not sure if this way of communicating is unique to these girls, or if all females tend to communicate with each other in this manner. But I do know that the only way I can think of solving the problem is by giving them both ice-cream.
