All Boy, But No Chest Bumps

Last weekend when we went in to celebrate Poppa Max's birthday, the nephews were there, of course. My kids only get to see them twice a year, at the most, but it's becoming closer to once a year. I noticed immediately that the nephews enjoy "loving" on both of my children by gentle punching, stepping on toes, or pinning one against a wall, like so:

My children don't particularly enjoy such behavior, but, especially since the nephews/ cousins are all younger than my two, we just chalk it up to physical exuberance at being reunited and try to be patient with it.

I haven't really given that ritual much more thought until yesterday, when we went to the Rangers game in Arlington. For the record, it was like most other baseball games to me: two and a half hours of sweating profusely while watching a game as exciting as watching paint dry, and about 30 minutes of good ball. We ran into some people we know from here in town. The little guy Riley's age approached Riley with an elbow poke. When Riley politely moved away from him, he persisted with a chest bump.

This really gave me pause. Perhaps the physical wear-and-tear of your friends is a boy trait that Riley is simply missing. The kid from yesterday is an only child being raised by a single mom, and while I don't know all of her habits, I feel fairly certain she doesn't greet him with a chest bump after school. So, in my demented logic, I guess it has to be in-born. So where is Riley's chest bump/ back slap/ toe stepping/ pin to the wall gene? Is he missing one?

Then it occurred to me that one of the reasons I find this so odd is that none of Riley's friends seem to chest bump/ back slap/ toe step/ pin to the wall when he encounters them. So, I guess I must conclude that Riley has surrounded himself with friends of the non-chest bump/ back slap/ toe step/ pin to the wall variety, which is probably smart for a kid who weighs 68 pounds dripping wet.

That Riley is HILARIOUS, and he is definitely all boy. Just don't chest bump him.