Boy, Oh Boy!

Today has been one adventure after another. It is, however, nothing unusual for the mother of boys. I, myself, have one sister. Growing up, I was a shy child. Other than a couple of boy cousins, I had very little interaction with boys. Really, it wasn't until I met my husband that I said more than a few words to anyone of the male species. I really wasn't even very good at talking to my dad. But, meet my husband I did. We got married, and 14 months later God blessed us with a bouncing baby boy. I was quite intimidated at first, not quite sure what to do with him. I had practiced all my life taking care of my dolls, doing their hair, dressing them up in cute dresses, etc. I was one of the girliest girls you'd ever want to meet. I don't like animals, and really don't like bugs. The name we gave him means enlightenment. Oh, did he enlighten me. Not only to the challenges of boys, but also the joys. Then, four years later, we were blessed with another boy. Don't get me wrong, there are times I long to have a little girl, but I would not trade my boys for the world. In a million years, I would've never dreamed I would grow up and have two boys. I'm glad God had other plans.

As I've already said, boys bring one adventure after another. Today was no exception. First, we were in the car on our way to the park. We had picked up some friends on the way. I am driving along listening to the conversation of my 6yo son and his little 6yo friend (who is a girl). They start talking about money. They both are wishing for all kinds of money and trying to out do each other. Then, our little friend says, "I'm broke". My son replies, "I have some money. Cents is money, do you have any cents?" She says, "I had some cents, but I can't find it." He says, "I have more cents than you." Mind you, I am listening to this while driving. I cannot contain my laughter. I am getting tears in my eyes from laughing. I think the cutest part is that they each knew exactly what the other was talking about. It was just an innocent conversation about how much cents they had. It makes me smile just thinking about it. That, however, was just the beginning.

There are a lot of "firsts" that children go through in their lifetime. It is always an emotional time for parents. We are excited because they are growing up, and we are sad because they are growing up. When you think of firsts, there are a lot of events that come to mind. First steps, first words, first day of school, first date just scratches the surface. There are some firsts, on the other hand, that a mom doesn't really think about until all of a sudden it happens. Especially with boys, there are firsts of things that I never went through and, therefore, had no reason to think about them. Today was one of those firsts. My almost 11yo is in band. Sports are a new thing that we are experiencing with my 6yo. Last fall, he started playing baseball. He wanted to sign up because his friend was playing. He really had no interest in baseball. I didn't think he would ever want to play again after that first season. Well, he decided to sign up in the spring again because he heard they got trophies. That was all it took. One little trophy, and now he is hooked to baseball for life, I think. This fall, we signed him up for the 7 -8 year old group even though he won't be 7 until the end of October. He was so much bigger than all the kids on his team in the spring, and I knew there would be new 4 year olds starting this fall. Even on his new team he is one of the tallest, though everyone is much closer to his size. I can't imagine him on the team with little tiny 4 year olds. Sorry, I am off on a tangent. The 7 and 8 year old group hits the ball from a pitching machine. The pitching machine is set to pitch at 40-something mph. Many of those kids can really hit that ball hard when it is going that fast. Therefore, we decided it was probably important that he be protected. Herein lies the first of today. That is an item I never would've imagined buying in a million years. So I'm standing in Target just a little bit intimidated again. How does one know what size to buy? Does he really need it? Should I buy it or not? Oh, the questions that were running through my brain. I did finally decide on one to buy, now I hope and pray that it is the right one. Just another ordinary day being the mom of boys.