Boy oh boy

As I think back to the time when I was pregnant with Cooper, I remember being frequently asked whether we wanted a girl or a boy. Of course our first priority was a healthy baby, but given the choice, we were both geared up for a little guy.

The news came and so did the baby, and 12 months later I was having the same conversation about child number two. Happy, healthy, and hopefully a boy.

We didn’t figure we’d be quite so lucky seeing as my husband grew up in a house with six sisters. And, of course, we’ve already established that God has a sense of humor. But He blessed us twice and gave us our boys, and is probably lounging happily on a cloud thinking, “If they’d only have asked for a sweet little girl!”

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Aside from the anatomy differences and the early onset of man-vision, I think I’ve adjusted pretty well for a girl who grew up in a house with no boys.

People ask us a lot if we wish we’d have had a girl. “Aw, come on. Don’t you need at least one little girl?” It makes me think they know something I don’t. All I can remember about girls growing up is the harshness and the cattiness and the know-it-all attitude.

Of course now that I’m grown, I see perfectly the benefit of having girls. They tend to stay close to Mama. I pray every day for the wives of my boys, that they will be kind and loyal and God fearing. And that they will promise to keep my boys close to home until I am ready to send them packing.

Before the kids came along, I was always a little nervous about the parenting styles we would claim. Would I coddle them and baby them and give in to their every whim? Would Randy be too harsh in his discipline, never change a diaper and see them only from the dugout of the ball field?

In my mind I knew these things weren’t good, but parenting is one of those experiences that we are never really sure how to do until it is our turn to take the wheel. Kind of like backseat driving.

While there is always room for improvement, I’m proud and thankful that my children are seldom coddled. They are probably told “no” a little too often, and their Daddy is a whiz at changing diapers. But best of all, they get to spend hours and hours on the job and in the company of their dad-watching and helping, learning to work hard, and loving every minute of it.

There’s no replacement for a good father, especially in the lives of two little boys. And one day, with a little guidance (and a good wife) I know each of our boys will have the ability and fortitude pass on this legacy to their own children... even if they have a house full of girls.

And that’s All in a day’s work!