Boys!

A boy is a strange animal! I know this from firsthand experience as many of you mothers of boys know. We grow up and like boys, but unless we have brothers, I don't think we really know how different they are. When dating them, they try to impress us and when we get married, they show us their true self! But it is still different than watching a boy grow up. Little boys are so sweet! They laugh and kiss their mommy and cry for their mommy, and then we laugh at them when they toot! I think that is a mistake! Yes it is adorable to see your son in the bath being surprised that a toot happened and then when we laugh, they want to keep doing it! And it is cute to hear them say "I tooted!" And we think this is great until they turn 8 and are saying this out loud in the grocery line! And then they are taught by another, older, grandfatherly, boy to blame the mom for this! Real nice!



But even at 8, 9, 10, boys can be sweet when they are one on one. I had the opportunity to have 7 boys at my house the other day and saw this phenomenon. I was talking to one of the boys and we were having a great conversation. Then abruptly it ended and he goes running back to the group with a totally different personality! He went from polite, mature conversationalist to "Hey Yolanda" as he called one of the boys a name and proceeded to tackle him! In fact, my backyard was one big wrestling pit!



But I am grateful for my boys! I have been given the awesome responsibility to rear my sons in a way that they grow up to be men, real men. Men who are responsible for their family; men who can cry, but don't do so just to be in touch with their feminine side; men who won't allow themselves to be put down and made to feel stupid just because they are a man; men who will treat women with respect and their wives as a queen; men who are leaders; and men who do scratch and burp and make all other sorts of sounds! A real man!



So I guess I will just have to let my boys be boys! Bring on the ring for the backyard, the wrestling match is about to begin!