Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Blessed With Boys

I've been blessed with boys. A plethora of boys. I am the mother of three such wonderful creatures and wouldn't have it any other way. Boys are great! People always ask me, 'are you going to try for a girl?' and my answer is 'Heck no!'. What's wrong with a house full of little imps? They are sweet and rugged and sensitive. They are loving and kind. They love frogs and bugs and baseball.
I did daycare for a few years and noticed many differences in girls and boys and came to one conclusion. God knew what he was doing when he blessed me with boys!!
Now, don't get me wrong, there are drawbacks to boys. Have you ever noticed the difference in clothing selection between the girls department and the boys? It's quite unfair. I can remember when my 17 year-old was 2 and I went to Penney's and realized that girls were supposed to be dressed like princesses for Easter and boys like paupers. No suits or cute little outfits were in sight. If Penney's had been the only store the girls would be dressed to the nines and the boys in some sweatsuit with cars on it.
The educational system has way overstepped a problem. There was a time that, yes, the education system did not do girls justice. Now, it is like boys are the enemy. They have moved so far as to make the system totally girl centric and anti-boy. I'm not so sure that it is in the best interest to educate girls and boys together when their development and learning styles are so different. I am also not so sure that the increase in need for ADD medications isn't actually an environment hostile to a boys' learning style. Boys like to touch and do and feel. The more active they are in learning the better they do. Boys are being expected to sit in classrooms quietly listing with no active learning. This is great for the girls and detrimental to the boys.
Although in no way perfect I prefer boys for so many reasons. I see friends with teenage girls and am so thankful for my teenage son. He is far from perfect and there I times I want to scream BUT when I see the reality which is the teenage girl, I am thankful.
My sons are 17, 8 and 6. They are busy all of the time which means "I" am busy all of the time. My 6 year-old loves frogs and bugs and butterflies and spends a lot of time 'catching' these elusive creatures. He loves swimming lessons. He just loves life. He's a light in the darkness. My 8 year-old is sweet and sensitive and kind. He has had struggles. He has one eye that without glasses is legally blind and he stutters but we work and that. I am grateful that he has friends that would never let another ill-raised child make an unkind comment to him without paying dearly. You see, parents aren't what they used to be that is why kids aren't what they used to be.
My oldest is 17 and has ADD. We've treated him since he was 3. He will graduate next year. He is contemplating the Air Force. This year he is joining my husband on the harvest run for the first time running the tractor.
Life with boys is a joy. Life with boys is a challenge. Life with boys is worth the effort, sweat and tears. Boys are wonderful!