Thank Heaven for little boys

Here's the column I wrote for this week's newspaper, inspired by a weekend shopping trip.

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So, there I was, standing amidst a sea of pink, purple, yellow and green. There were flowers, hearts, butterflies and rainbows dancing everywhere. Ribbons and lace and sparkles and bows fluttered before my eyes. I was drowning in a sea of springtime beauty.
And as I pulled the twelfth dress off the rack, I came back to myself.
I was in the little girls’ section at Kohl’s, selecting a gift for my friend’s daughter’s first birthday.
As the mom of two boys, I get a special thrill from browsing the racks of girlie clothes. I could weep over the sweetness of a little sunsuit printed with strawberries or a fresh yellow daisy-print dress with a matching sweater. Teeny-tiny bathing suits with ruffles on the butt make me giggle. Hair bows and black patent Mary Janes make me grin.
Boys’ clothing can be cute, don’t get me wrong, but the sweetest little sweater vest combo can’t hold a candle to a lavender chiffon Easter dress. No way, no how. Girl stuff is just so PRETTY.
I was a really girlie girl when I was little. I refused to wear pants during my early elementary school years, so my mom made me a bunch of little dresses and jumpers. Then, in middle school, I went through a stage where I only wore guys’ clothing. In high school, I was a cheerleader and rediscovered my affinity for dresses, skirts and high heels, as well as makeup and nail polish.
But now that I’m the stay-at-home mom of two very active and messy little boys, my dresses and skirts and high heels have been relinquished to the back of my closet in favor of jeans and sweatshirts and gym shoes.
Yes, I think that living in a house full of males has somehow taken my feminine side and turned her into a tomboy. One look at my side of the closet confirms it. Most of my clothes are kind of boyish these days! I wouldn’t even know how to match a skirt and top anymore, and I know for a fact I can’t handle wearing high heels without limping for a week afterward. As for my nails, they’re naked and short instead of long and perfectly polished.
I suppose that’s why I enjoy those little shopping trips for my nieces or my friends’ daughters. I get to revel in the sweet pink lacy stuff for a while. I guess sometimes I forget I’m supposed to be into pretty things, since I’m a girl and all.
Now reading this, you might think I wish I had a daughter. You might be wondering if I am thinking about “trying for a girl.”
Nope!
I will admit to a very brief twinge of something like disappointment when I found out Jordan was a boy, but I think it was simply because I THOUGHT I was having a girl. I had her named, I was going to decorate her room in a Monet theme, I was going to get to buy pink stuff.
But never in a million years would I trade my little Jordan for a girl. I have been given boys and I am meant to be a mom of boys and I LOVE boys! Sure, they might give you a surprise shower if you’re not careful when you change their diaper. Sure, Matchbox cars and Thomas trains hurt like the dickens when you step on them with bare feet. Sure, their little feet get stinky FAR too soon.
But there is something just so sweet about little boys, and the way they love their moms. The way Logan’s hands still find their way into my hair when he’s sitting on my lap and I’m reading to him. The way Jordan gives me so many of his super sloppy kisses when I’m carrying him. The way my three guys look when Hubby is laying on the couch holding both of them at once.
It’s almost more than I can stand.
So, yes, while I do get a thrill out of shopping for girl’s clothes, every day I thank Heaven for my little boys!

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Of course, I must admit, when Logan was really little, my friend Lauren and I kind of did something one day that he might just hate me for in the future. We put a barrette in his hair and put him in this frilly yellow sweater someone made and gave me as a shower gift. (It is a very beautiful sweater, but really girly. We call it "the chicken sweater." He never wore it aside from in this photo.)

And I should say, he would have been a pretty cute little girl!





Then again, the kid did have a "thing" for my high heeled shoes for a while!