Boys to Men

My mom sent me this quote, and I thought it was cute enough to keep record of here on the good old blog!

A mother with all sons

will be surrounded

by handsome men

the rest of her life.

Why is it that we little-boy mama's dream of the day that we will sit on the pew of our church with suited, handsome young men on each side of us? Or, sometimes I dream of the day that I will be cooking dinner in the kitchen and one of my sons will walk up to me and put his big strong arms around me and envelope me somewhat like my arms now envelope him. One day I will be the frail, weak one, and they will be the strong, protective ones. Funny to think about. . .

Protection. I remember that word coming to mind a lot as I held JCT when he was an infant. There is one particular picture of the two of us that when I put it in his baby scrapbook, I put the word "protect" in sticker letters down the side of the picture. I remember thinking at the time that I was protecting him like all good mama bears do, but that one day he would be protecting me.

From the moment I become aware that there is a baby growing inside my womb, I am ready to protect it. If a ball is coming right at me, rather than put my hands over my head like I would have before pregnancy, now my arms go straight to my belly to protect a life that is more precious to me than my own. Protect. It is what we as mama's want to do. It simply comes natural. But, something shifts over time. And, slowly we have to let go. We have to let them fall a bit. We have to sit back and let them fight their own battles. Then, one day the tide will shift completely to the place where they will be the strong and capable ones protecting us, taking care of us. Recently, I have seen this firsthand as I have watched my Daddy oversee the care of his mother who is mentally and physically unable to care for herself.

I love the thought that these little boys of mine will one day be grown men. It gives me chills. I'll blink and they will have acne, squeaky voices, and stubble on their chins. Then, I'll blink again and they will be husbands and fathers, full of wisdom and strength, courage and dignity. (That is what I pray for anyway!)

I think that is why I love the line from the "I love you up to the moon" song that says, "One day when you are older and taller than me, I'll say I watched you grow like a beautiful tree." Kim Hill wrote this song for her sons, and I had the privilege of hearing her sing it in concert months before I got pregnant with my oldest son. I wanted so badly to be pregnant at the time, and I vowed that if God gave me a son I would sing that song to him. So, when Joshua was a baby, I memorized it, and I have sung it to all three of my little men over and over. And, it doesn't matter how many millions of times that I sing that song, I still get choked up every other time or so.

At lunch today, JCT turned his chocolate milk cup over, and I thought it to be an accident. Because, seriously, why on earth would anyone do that on purpose. But, a few minutes later I walked across the room and watched as he reached for his brother's chocolate milk cup and turned it over, as well.

Why?

Why do little boys do the things they do? I will never understand them, but thank God, I love them! Little boys are an interesting breed, but they really are quite irreplaceably wonderful. So, for now I will protect my baby boys, laugh at my little boys, and, hopefully, one day sit back and admire my big boys!