Boys Will Be Boys -- (Merit badge for Mother?)
Try as I might to keep some sense of order and sanity at our house,
I've just about given up. After all, I'm outnumbered. With two boys and
one big husband, the testosterone wins three to one.
It wasn't always like this. When Freddy and Brian were babies, they'd
gurgle and cuddle and coo, and there was peace on earth. Then came the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, followed by the X-Men, and the Power Rangers,
and now an eclectic mix of animated characters whose names I can't
pronounce.
As any mother of boys knows, things are never boring when these guys
get together. Boys don't walk, they run. Loudly. With sound effects.
The imagination is always going and the mouth moves right along with it.
Boys don't play, they wrestle, grapple, challenge and hunt.
Boys leave a trail wherever they go. Maybe this is so they won't get
lost and have to ask for directions. You can chart out exactly where my
boys have been from the minute they get home from school until they're
safely mesmerized at the computer. Follow the backpack to the shoes to the
kitchen (cupboards door swinging) to the Oreo crumbs to the sweatshirt to
the bathroom (seat up, of course) to the towel on the floor to the open
door... and then it's a blur.
Not a whole lot changes when these boys become men. John went to the
market the other day and I asked him to pick me up some nail polish
remover. I wrote it down to be sure he understood what I was talking
about. He came home with "Artificial Nail Remover." They just don't get
it.
I have to be the general locator of the house. Most conversations
begin with, "Mom, where's the ____?" Yesterday Brian asked me where the
bike pump was. Like I have ever even used a bike pump. They must think I
make a game of moving things around all day so that I have control over
their items.
When boys ask questions like this, they don't walk in a room and
explain that they've looked everywhere and would you mind helping them.
No, they yell across the house, from wherever they are, before they begin
to look. It's a much more efficient use of their time. I've even gotten,
"Where's the ____?" calls on my cell phone. It seems my radar can detect
where their things are from miles away better than they can from their own
rooms.
Teens and pre-teen males are actually very interesting creatures to
observe. They don't sit in a chair, they drape themselves over it. And
they can't sit still without a remote control in their hands. If the
remote works the video game apparatus, they could become one with the chair
over a period of hours and must be reminded to extract themselves for
meals. If company is expected, I find that it's easier to just drape off
that part of the room than to argue about what is considered acceptable
entertainment for guests.
When we were at UCLA, my husband lived in a fraternity house, and I
think that now he is trying to recreate that experience at home. The
pillows I bought for decor are frequently used as arsenal for the wrestling
matches. My beautifully designed living room has been taken over by a
percussion set and an electric guitar system. My family DVD player
exhibits only movies starring Adam Sandler or laden with explosions and
special effects.
But I'm not complaining. I am counting my blessings. After all, my
friend Debbie has three boys, and Kay has four! It takes a pretty sturdy
mom to handle a houseful of cub scouts and little leaguers. These are the
moms that deserve the merit badges!
At night, when the house is finally quiet and the boys are in bed, I
still look in on them and marvel at the wonder of all they are.
Time slows down for just that moment, and all the peace on earth fills
my heart.
[ by: Lisa Marie Nelson (BrightIdea@aol.com) -- from 'HeartWarmers' ]
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