By Candice van Pletsen
I always pictured myself having little girls dressed in pink, watching endless hours of ballet rehearsals, painting nails and doing facials together. Instead I find myself on the rugby fields shouting with no inhibition for my boy to score another try!
Somehow God had another plan. He’s blessed us with three awesome little boys – an 8, 6 and 4 year old. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Having a home filled with smelly, loud and crazy little male species makes me feel extremely fortunate. Although somewhat daunting, it’s the most thrilling and wonderful privilege to raise boys!
For those moms out there with boys, here’s some of my journey and things I’ve learnt along the way.
I hope you take courage, or at least a good giggle, from my stumblings over the last 8 years!
- Loud and Proud
Having the hormone testosterone gives them an incredible ability to be LOUD. I have three words BIG, BOLD and BOISTEROUS!Nothing is done in small doses or quietly. When the oldest of the male species arrives home from work and wrestles the three younglings for what seems like hours, the noise hits deaf defying levels. The screaming, shouting and yelping amidst tears and laughter surprisingly brings such joy! Another thing they seem to be loud and proud about is their developing muscles. Afford my eldest the opportunity and he’ll quickly take off his shirt and flex his muscles for you… ”Check my six pack mom, can you see it?!” The other two very quickly follow suit, ripping off their shirts and bragging about their muscles. From the minute they awake (5:45am) its loud and boisterous right up until the time they put their brave little heads down to sleep. Beautiful! - Adventure Awaits
One thing my boys have taught me is to be more adventurous and fearless. The innate sense to explore and adventure is deep within these boys.Life is full of endless opportunities to go beyond and into the unknown. Most times they will ignore mom’s sissy little boundaries she’s put in place. They WILL go climb the highest rock (and jump from it!), run the furthest away and go deeper into the water way beyond mom’s comfort zones. Prepare yourself, as it gets more thrilling the older they get! - Guts and Gore
There’s something about blood with boys. The smallest of cuts or grazes ends up being this huge deal.This is when mommy comes into play, as they’re suddenly not so tough anymore. Full of pride they share their story as though they were about to die… “The cut was so deep the doctor nearly had to cut my leg off mom!” at which I gently smile, give him a cuddle and say “such a brave boy!” The more gutsy and gory the better. I love the way their stories get exaggerated when telling their friends. Every cut, bruise or scar is a sign of a true hero. - Toilet Talk
Somehow toilet talk seems to rear its head as the hot topic in our household. Challenging each other around who can make the best farting noises is held in high regard. To which dad joins in on occasion and would go on all night if I didn’t put an end to it. So worth affording them some time around this talk for a good laugh! Although a female definitely needs to bring in some boundaries around this topic. - Forget-me-not femininity
For those of us who are the only girl in the family, don’t forget time to do the things you love. Girly things like booking a pedicure or a massage or clothes shopping with friends. Whatever that is for you. Sometimes we give so much to our boys that it’s easy to loose what YOU are passionate about. A bit of classical music and dancing cannot hurt the male species.
Some mommy time is good for her soul and spirit and can only benefit her boys in the long run.
I hope this has been helpful to all the boy mom’s out there! Remember to laugh along the way…