Let's Hear It For the Boys!

This is a special tribute to the Mother & Son relationships in our lives. We hear and talk about the bond between us and our daughters, but I don't think that our sons get enough publicity in the story-telling. Remember those chubby little babies who ensconced themselves in our hearts the moment we held them in our arms and smelt the essence of their tiny selves? And those very same infants started growing and when they were old enough to play outside they would capture and present to us with so much love and pride shining in their faces various bugs and other creepy crawlies as they exclaimed "Look Mommy! Look!". As time went merrily along, the bugs would be replaced by wildflower blossoms that were frequently mashed but meant no less because of the condition we received them in. The excitement of the giving never paled no matter what the nature of the gift!

Little girls may be sugar and spice and all things nice, but little boys grow up loving their mommies with a pure and unselfish love that makes us benefactors of unbridled adoration no one else can quite match. After all, haven't we ourselves heard the wise old goes like" how a man has loved his mother will affect how he loves his wife"? (or something close to that). We never stop feeling tender toward them even when they have grown into adulthood, have married and become a parent.

Our sons may be blessedly married to wonderful, caring, loving and nurturing women, and we know within our hearts they are well taken care of and life is good for them...but we were Mommies from the start and Mommies we will always be and that means even having relinquished them to a wife our hearts will forever be branded with the images of a toddler who ran into our arms for comfort and consolation, then a young boy who held our hand as we crossed the street, then a teenager who in his own way struggled to grow, and now a man complete with responsibilities and families of his own.

Every now and then it is a treat to simply spend time in their company and catch up on life events, chat about what's happening in his life right now, share a joke or two, or reminisce about family and friends. The bond will never be broken, and as life cycles do just that...cycle through, one thing is for certain...Mothers and Sons are forever! I especially enjoy chatting with my sons. God blessed me with two who are adults now with their own families and I must say with a certain degree of Motherly affection (okay...a little pat on my back too) that as a single Mother I didn't do half bad.

But wait...I must first explain that my husband and their father died when they were very young boys and I took over alone from there, but I do believe that because I was a young mother (my oldest is exactly 21 years my junior) and I hadn't a clue as to what raising boys would be like, the unorthodox methods I used were the very things that made us unique and helped us to love each other with the devotion we had and still have.

I have learned so much from them. Funny how the teacher becomes the student, right? And I think that comes from some ancient proverb also, but it is true. I love and appreciate the life lessons gleaned from their fresh perspectives on life and from their wisdom that baffled me from the beginning, but has become a comfort to me in these later years.

So, young Mothers, cherish these glorious childhood days and this irreplaceable precious time in your sons life. Know that the busy toddler, the hyperactive little tyke, the mischief-making young boy and the precocious teenager, will grow into a fine upstanding man who will one day become one of your best friends.

Thank God for little boys who become Great Men!

Mother to Grandmother...And Still a Woman

What every mother enjoys as she raises her family is the fact that she is needed. Needed and valued and family life just cannot function in it's fullest fullness without Mother. We start off involved in our children's lives with the unmatched joys of infancy; diaper changes, bottle washing, sleepless nights, you know the whole drill. These life events are permanently etched in every part of our brain, and they make up cherished memories and the memories multiply as each child reaches a milestone in their life. Before we know it, we were standing at the bus stop sending them off to elementary school and the next day we are in the audience at their high school graduation. Fast forward to college years, marriages, and births of the grandchildren and viola! you get to do it all over again. Here is the difference this time around...you are usually not the one in charge and your role is to mentor (parents first; remember the new parents who used to be your very own little kid?) and later on in life to the second generation child.

Now I know that the "so-called traditional role" of Grandmother has morphed into full-time substitute Mother in some families where Grandma is the only Mother some children have ever known. That is nothing new. And one major reason why we should not define "traditional" slots for us to fit in. The real grandmother role has been up front and center for ages. Some of us live in, some of us have the grands as members of our own household or we commute to babysit. Either way the scenarios change depending on the family dynamic and we provide whatever they need from us. That's what we are all about.

But, there is a flip side. Aside from being loving and nurtuing to the grandchildren and providing intricate support systems and functioning as cheerleaders for our own sons and daughters guess what? We exist as a separate entity. We are intelligent, intellectual, sensual, interesting, and independent of our families. We can balance our checkbooks, change the air filters in our homes, engage in enlightening conversation and hold our own in a political debate. In other words we are REAL. Romance, intrigue and love exists in our lives. These are some of the topics I will be discussing in my posts. Follow me and let's see what this is all about.