Thoughts on Boys...

I would like to announce to some of the uniformed of the world that boys are not girls. While they will love on the occasional baby doll, as dear Naiah did last night (he alternated between loving it and telling it no it couldn't nurse on his mama by yelling gibberish at it and throwing it into the pack-n-play), but this does not mean they will play with that doll like a girl.

When I was a child I loved all things girl. I had no interest in the stunts these rascals come up. For example, when I climbed a tree I simply climbed up, and then later, down the tree. Lij the other day attempted some Olympic inspired tree branch switching feat (wherein he missed his mark ending up flat on his back after an eight foot fall with the air knocked out him, looking very surprised). I, as a girl child, would have seen this was foolhardy and never tried it and looked at all boys with snobbish girl disdain at their macho antics. Now, I am the mother of the macho antic doers. I write this because I now know how VERY different boys and girls are (and I would like my neighbor to quit acting like everything my boys are doing is crazy. They are not crazy...they are boys.) Boys hold a fierce wildness in their hearts that our society needs and so lacks these days. Their aggression and fearlessness need to be honed but not squashed. Their tendency to dominate is the raw material for future leadership. The very boyish way they doggedly pursue their tasks (be it trench digging for combat, fort building for later friend ambush, or trap laying for the unsuspecting burgalers they are always waiting for) is the foundation for the confident, hardworking, innovating men we all hope for our future.

In summation, celebrate their boyishness!