I only know girls. That’s not true. I used to only know
girls. It’s all that had been around me. I grew up with my mother, my sister
and myself, the house of gals! I grew up
with girl cousins. I had boy cousins too
and played with them, but I gravitated towards my girl cousins. There are a lot
of girls in my family. My grandparents had 3 girls, mom and my aunts. My grandfather’s brother had four girls, my
second cousins. My cousins started
having babies, more girls. OK, they had boys too, but at first, it was the girls. And now the cousins’ babies are
growing up having babies, and yep! Girls!
My best friend had two girls. Then my sister had two girls. I know a lot of girls that like to go on and
on about how they only had guy friends not girl friends, cause some how that
made them cooler and more down to earth or blah, blah, blah, something,
something. But I had a ton of girl friends and I’m still pretty sure I’m as
cool as I think I am in my own head. I
had some guy friends, but again, I gravitated to my girl friendships. I got
girls, girls made sense to me. The world
of boys was foreign to me and I just steered clear of getting messy.
I didn’t want to have children, forever! But sort of always
knew, if I did, I’d have a boy. But I didn’t have to worry about it, forever! Because
I wasn't going to have children. This is
why you should never depend upon yourself and your own knowledge. You know
nothing, least of all the future- and God loves to prove that!
When we first decided to foster, with the hope we may adopt
our own (yeah, I’m skipping the whole how I came to want kids bit), I just knew
it would be a boy and that petrified me. I knew dolls, I knew Barbie and My
Little Pony and I knew Jem and The Holograms.
I knew how to play house and even though I bit mine, I know about
painting nails. I’m not all girly and frilly (clearly, if you've met me) and
know little about pretty hairdos or make-up, but I get that girls dig that
stuff and can support it. I get the
emotional breakdowns over things that will pass quickly (like sixth grade and
boys at the dances), I get having crushes you’d just die for that don’t know
your first name and I know secrets between best friends are precious gifts
(Just ask mine –we know too much about each other and I think its an unsaid
agreement, what we know, we take to the grave).
And I know the, you know, physiological stuff. The boy “stuff’, was a different world that I
didn’t want to delve into! What did I
know about boys?
Boys were loud! They were disobedient and challenging! Boys
destroyed stuff! They ran around and yelled! Boys were violent and mean and
bullied! Boys played rough and fought,
wrestled and completed. Boys fart and laugh, Boys burp and laugh, Boys tell rude
jokes and laugh. Boys didn’t listen or
follow routines or instructions. Boys were trouble! No! Boys were Trouble,
capital ‘T’! Raising a boy! That was
terrifying.
I think I've mentioned a time or two, I’m hard headed and
don’t take in learnin’ the easy way. God
always has to give it to me the hard way to teach me right! God gave me boys. Boys! And how fast does a girl knowing momma
fall in love with a trouble makin’ boy?
Oh, instantly!
They called us and told us they had a trouble maker in the
hospital! He was sick and cried a lot. He was in pain and struggle to cope with
what his little body had been dealt. He wasn't doing so swell and lots of tummy
trouble. He’d be a challenge and we’d have hard work with this one. He’d come with medication, he’d come with
charts to fill out and scores to keep up with.
He’d come with tremors, sensitivities to noise and lights, vomit and
wailing. He’d come sleepless and
uncomfortable. It wouldn't be an easy road, do we want in? Psht! Bring it! We were there that
night. We walked in and there he was!
Screaming in his bathtub- just awesome! Just perfect! Just what God had order-
a beautiful boy for us, Zachie.
Oh, then trouble maker number two blew on to the scene. Willful and loud and demanding! He decided he
had enough of a small little space and wanted out in the worst way, but a little too soon. But he wasn't scared; he knew he was strong
and ready for the world. 9 weeks early,
he had us around his teeny, tiny pinkie- Special rooms, special beds, special
meds, special food, special tubes, and special large medical bills. My favorite answer to give when a doctor
asks, ‘How long has he been sick like this?’ is “Well, he was born two years
ago, so let’s see…yeah, two years.” And they look at me like I said at punch
line and I say, ‘That’s my final answer.”
But he came on the scene with the strength of prayers on his side- just
awesome! Just perfect! Just what God had order- a beautiful boy for us,
Hurricane Isaac.
And now I know boys.
I know boys are loud! But it’s giddy, fun and wonderfully infectious!
And full of adventure! They are oriented
to try hard and please, and so anything that challenges them they’ll proudly
proclaim, “I win, I the best!” And they’ll fall into your arms for a big hug
and kiss. They destroy everything in
their path because it’s what it was created for! Block towers raise high over
heads, train tracks weave in and out of furniture! Piles of blanket forts and
trucks lined up as long as rugs! It’s
all for the sole purpose for the ‘bad guy” to destroy! But not to worry!
Spider-man will come along soon and avenge them all!!!!! Boys are sweet, helpful and so large in their
loving! They say I love you with grins
of ketchup. They kiss you all over your
face with the peanut butter lips. They
hug you with a wind up run across the kitchen floor. And yes- boys fart and laugh, boys burp and
laugh, boys tell silly jokes and laugh.
And you know what, momma’s laugh at it too! Boys are smart and learn so quickly, just
give them the energy to do so! Don’t
make a boy sit! Don’t make him confided and still! He’s a boy, let him move! Boys want to please
you and say sorry so fast when they know they've wronged you. Boys are awesome. No! Boys are Awesome, with
a capital ‘A’!
And all the hard stuff, the disobedience, the learning of
lessons by all parties and trouble times where it gets a little tough. Well, that’s all kids, boy or girl. They love me not because I’m perfect at being
a mom of boys, but because I’m their mom and they never have to doubt my
love. And I’ve got a super hero to back
me; Christ is there with every painful prayer.
And the physiological stuff, well…we’ll figure it as we go, besides I’m
pretty sure Marc’s got it covered. Besides, I have more pee stories in this head of mine then I ever thought possible.
My boys have given me my awesome new life. Every day they
give me a new story to tell! And I think
that will be a focus for a while of this blog.
Their joyful, often hilarious stories these boys write on my heart.
I am a momma of boys and it’s all I know! Girls are scary!
What the heck would I do with a girl!? How terrifying!
And before you ask, yes, we are done! Two boys are good for
me! Really, I’m done. I know this! We’ve decided this! You hear that God, don’t go provin’ any
points, ok?
Please?
I feel like I just invited a new kind of
trouble…………………………………………....
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