Midwest Vs. East Coast

Last night Marcus and I got into a debate about whether it would be appropriate for a 15-year-old to hang-out and spend time with an 8-year-old.  I am of the opinion that, and no matter the sex of the person, a 15-year-old has no business playing with an 8-year-old unless I am paying them to do so (i.e. babysitting...I realize that sounded funny).  Marcus did not agree.  He claimed that as long as the child is of good character their age is of little importance.

We went 'round and 'round, both of us stuck on our main issue.  I was adamant that any 15-year-old who does not have friends of their own age might have developmental or psychological issues that could affect a younger child.  He did not follow.  Finally, exasperated, I asked him exactly what he was doing at 15-years-old to which he replied "I don't know.  Catching frogs, building forts..." Aha!  And there we had it.  While Huckleberry Finn was growing up, innocent in the Midwest, I was on the East coast behaving like your more typical 15-year-old:  Daydreaming about boys, reading "Seventeen" magazine, and possibly  definitely already having had my first sip of alcohol.

I'm not sure if we really concluded the debate except that we both agreed we lived two very different lives prior to meeting each other.  I just hope he doesn't expect our girls to be building forts at 15.