IT’S A BOY THING
Stephenie Freeman
When I found out that I was pregnant with my first son, my honest-to-goodness first thought was "I don't know how to take care of a penis!" Being an only child who lived with her mother, my knowledge and understanding of the male anatomy was extremely limited. But upon his arrival, I quickly found that the care and maintenance of male body parts is fairly easy and straight forward. I could do this.
By the time my second son arrived, I was a pro. Our house was filled
with Hot Wheels, Legos, and toy trains. Our house was brimming with
testosterone and I was the Queen Bee in charge. My boys were easy to
dress and never required special hair-do's. I was beginning to think
that raising boys was going to be easy and predictable. At some point,
we'd probably end up in the ER with a broken bone. Expected. There
would be cuts, bruises, fights and the like. No problem. I could
handle it.
And then my oldest signed up to play soccer. I was excited for him, and
a little for myself as well. I had never played sports myself, but I
had always enjoyed watching. I loved the idea that he was going to
participate, make new friends, and hopefully learn to be a team player.
During the parent meeting we were informed that he would need shin
guards, since naturally the 4-year old team did a lot of kicking and
rarely at the ball. Like a good mommy, I quickly headed out to our
local sports retailer and asked a young girl where the youth shin guards
were located. She showed me the different options: with socks,
without socks, shiny colored ones, plan white ones. I had
absolutely no idea what was appropriate for my son.
I flashed back to my ultrasound. "I don't know how to take care of a
penis!" Staring at the shin guards, jock straps and athletic cups I
realized, this was a penis thing. I did not know anything about
this. This array manliness was completely foreign to me. I quickly
thought, "My husband should be doing this!" But I was the mommy. These
types of things (i.e. running errands) were my job.
I have since realized that in fact there will be many new things that as
a mother I will not be prepared for. And worse, many things that as a
mother of boys that I will simply not understand. Upon
purchasing the shin guards (I went with the white Nike ones with socks)
I suddenly had a bizarre since of pride. I even found myself smiling at
the sack sitting next to me on the ride home.
Upon returning home, as if I had accomplished something impressive, I
proudly shared my purchase with my husband. He also grinned as he held
them up.
"Did I do okay?" I asked him.
He replied, "This is just the beginning."
I smiled knowing that, yes, it was. And I could handle it.
Previous Posts:
Definition of a
Modern Mother
My Friend At
Target
Reruns & Action
Figures
Pajama Time
Organizational
Issues
Summer Freedoms
Excitement About
the Small Things
The Lies We
Parents Tell
Birthdays to
Remember
Can You Hang
Tinsel On A Recycling Bin?
Time Out For
Dummies
I'm A June Clever
Wannabe
To read more from Stephenie, visit her site!
Mama Wants More
A column for today's mother who has it all and still wants more
because you're a mother, a wife, a citizen, a consumer. You're
unappreciated, underpaid, and over qualified for wiping bottoms &
cleaning toilets. But this was your dream. This is what you always
wanted. you love your life, but you still want more . Me too.
