Monday, April 11, 2016

I'll say it for you, "I've got my hands fuuuuuuullllllll."

Lately getting out of my house has been a challenge.  With three boys getting out of the house in a timely manner while remembering where I'm going and what I'm doing is a miracle.  Not a miracle that sounds very awe-inspiring like feeding the 5,000, healing or raising the dead but a miracle involving my own mental capacities of which I am very grateful.

Point is, once I'm out the comments start flowing.

I almost always hear, "You've got your hands full".

Now I understand that this is a natural reaction to seeing a mom out with three lively boys but while I was pregnant with my last I was constantly asked, "Are you having a girl?" or "Did you want a girl/Are you disappointed?"

Which begs the question in my mind, "Do girls fix your problems as a parent?"

The tone of the question changes these conversations drastically.  From the lighthearted and caring stranger to the looks at my kids like they have the plague stranger.  Either way it just leads me to the root of this interaction which is, "Am I ok with my boys, my life, my choices."

The answer is yes.

We have bad days.  We have good days.  When the bad days begin to outnumber the good ones I have to look for the cause because the fact that they are boys is not the reason.  Am I tired, achy/hungry, need a break or do boundaries need to be reestablished, behavior addressed, loving connections made?

I love their energy(really), creativity, joy and laughter.  Most of the time we are laughing.  Some of the time we are wrestling.  Parts of the time we are crying.  None of the time are we resting( ok maybe sometimes).

I love that I have loads of excuses to do "Boy" things that I would love to do anyway.  Introducing them to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, jumping in mud puddles, helping little ones climb up into trees and wrestling on the floor.

I've also introduced them to "Girly" things like the day they sat and watched Anne of Green Gables mostly because the tv was on or all our poetry tea times( although I think poetry and tea time are for everyone anyway).

While homeschooling we took nature walks, had field trips every other week, acted out history lessons and had our hands deep into messy science experiments and dioramas.  We read Shakespeare and the Odyssey( children's versions) and discussed ancient history, God and the Civil rights movement.  I've been missing it so much that I haven't quite known what to do with just my toddler.  It's a new season though and we're growing and learning, searching for our footing in a new place.

So yes my hands are still full.  Full of joy and sometimes dishes or frustration but full none the less.  That's the way I like it.  Hopefully I'll know what to do with my hands when they're free as well.  I think I'll start to practice.

2 comments:

J.andJ. Wenningkamp said...

I love the way people's facial expressions change as they realize the fully loaded question they just asked might have sounded inappropriate.

Travis Nellis said...

I LOL-ed when I read the no rest part. So True. Maybe I can be frozen in a sleep chamber for a few years to get some rest.