Raising Boys

An old friend and I have been emailing this week. She and I each grew up with a sister. Thirty years later, we are raising boys - and one daughter. We had neighbors who were boys - but close friends? Well, we stuck with the girls most of the time. As we approached junior high and high school, of course we grew more interested in boys. But for the most part we were typical girls - into clothes, shopping, music and talking on the phone. My junior and senior year in high school, I had a group of friends who I hung with all of the time. There were 7 girls and 7 guys. We went to movies, swam, ice skated, cooked, watched football, went to dances, etc. together. Really, we were always together. Hanging with the guys gave me my only education on what boys are like. They were competitive, joked around a lot, and were entertained by gross jokes. The guys were lots of fun - I have a million fond memories of time spent with them.

So you can see that my brother-type boy experiences did not exist. I didn't know what it was like to have a boy in my house (well, except for one practical joke the "guys" played on me). I found it puzzling that many of the houses I visited where boys lived had at least one sign over the toilet that said "if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie". I figured boys had issues. That's why, when I walked out of the ultrasound room, I said to Tim - "what am I going to do with a boy?" and 18 months later, I said "I never thought I'd have a boy - and certainly not two"! Well, God had it planned all along. He knew I would feel overwhelmed, crazy,complete with my one daughter and 3 sons.

He also knew my boy experiences would begin on July 17, 1997. We were off to a great start until we got home and attempted the first diaper change. Who knew that sudden changes in temperature around a boy's thingamajig would cause Old Faithful to erupt? My mom and I (yes, at first it took two) were changing Brooks on the bathroom counter when the "sprinkler" came on. That was fine, we could deal, until we followed the stream and found that the receptacle was Brooks' mouth. Yep, really. He peed into his very own mouth. Filled it up like a dixie cup. All the way up. He was crying (because he was cold and hated his diaper changes) and while the mouth was open, it caught some warm fluid. Well, what to do? No need to remain calm, I panicked, called his dad and asked him what to do??? Once recovering from the shock and humor of such an absurd call, he assured me that urine is sterile and he didn't think 911 was necessary. So, I tipped his head to the side and proceeded to wipe out his mouth thoroughly. Boy issue #1 resolved. Whew! Thankfully, I learn from my mistakes and future boy diaper changes usually resulted in much less excitement!

Boys are so active! They dash through the house playing hide-and-go-seek, scratch games of football and soccer in the yard, and the video games, now that is another topic. My boys will play together any chance they get. I have to admit, the games usually end in some type of physical debacle. One tackles the other too hard and the other pays him back. So you give them a little space and it's not long before they are begging to play together again. I love our busy nights at the baseball fields - getting to see my 8 year old hit a grand slam, or feeling a bit nervous as my 9 year old pitches his first full game. Tim and I get a kick out of the little boys swinging the bat and turning in a perfect circle 'cause the bat is so heavy - or running to the wrong soccer goal early in the season.

Boys can laugh like nobody's business. In fact, it wasn't too long ago when I heard a tremendous amount of laughter coming from the bathroom. Cole and 2 friends from Kindergarten were evidently having sword fights with their pee. It was a triple sword fight. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they wipe of the seat, right? (that was Cole's question, not mine).

I really wasn't prepared for this. I don't know that there is anything that will prepare you for the mess, the noises, the fear (when they tear down the mountain and snowplow at the last second), or the JOY... of having 3 boys tell you how very much they love you at the end of the day. I love raising boys!