Different, but the same

Last night, Daniel had six of his friends over to spend the night to celebrate his birthday (remember, most of them were out of town over his birthday weekend, since it was also 4th of July weekend). For several years now, this has been how Daniel chooses to celebrate his birthday. We also have gotten into a tradition of having the guys over to spend the night sometime during the week after Christmas. That means that twice a year, once every six months, I have a tempory loss of all sanity and allow my house to be completely taken over by testosterone! And I am glad to do it because they always have so much fun.

Now that they are getting older, the things they like to do while they are here all night have changed. Or have they? Here are some things that are different and some that are the same:

Different:

• I dropped the guys off at the Japanese steak house restaurant and let them have dinner sans parents as a special treat for Daniel's 16th birthday. Of course, I still came back to pay the bill.
• One of the guys is already 16 and has his driver's license and a car, so instead of having another parent help me transport everyone, he was able to take some of the crew in his car. Now that's different!
• There wasn't as much "physical" activity going on. In the past, these guys have spent at least a couple of hours wrestling like puppies on the floor or playing "King of the Hill" and taking turns throwing each other off the den "ledge" (those who know my house know what I'm talking about) onto a pile of pillows and cushions on the floor.

Same:

• Hide-and-seek-type game played with nerf guns. I'm not sure about all the specifics of this, since I stay safely hidden in my room so I don't get hit with a stray "bullet" or run over by anyone, but apparently boys will still be boys, even when they are 15 and 16 years old.
• Playing disgusting "Dare" games, making each other eat or drink awful concoctions of things found in the fridge and pantry. Lots of laughter is involved with this game, which is how I always know that is what they're doing.
• Lots of food and canned sodas are consumed. I think it was only an hour after they'd gotten back from dinner, I heard them raiding the pantry. And these boys can eat, no matter what age they are!
• Movie watching.
• Fun, fun and more fun.

I'm so thankful that Daniel has a group of guys who he can hang out with and who I am confident are good influences on each other. Many of them have known each other since they were babies and it will be fun to see how they continue to stay in each others' lives as life takes its course in the years to come.