Boys Will Be Boys

       Yesterday we were invited to go swimming at the neighbor's house.  Since our own pool is indefinitely out of commission, I welcomed the opportunity to cool off from the intense heat that has been blanketing the south for several days now. 
      My older son is tall enough to reach the bottom of the above ground pool.  He is also enough of a swimmer now that I am not quite as nervous for him as I am for the little one.  Until late August of last year he wouldn't even go near the "big" pool, happy to just splash around in his kiddie pool on the deck while we all swam and floated.  When I finally conviced him to cross over to the dark side, he would only do so emblazoned with arm floaties and a ring around his waist.  Yesterday, in an hours' worth of time he managed to learn the doggie paddle, even shedding all flotational device twice to attempt to swim on his own AND he was jumping off the side of the pool into the water (with floaties) like a pro.  Yes, he drank a considerable amount of pool water and yes, he forgot to plug his nose a couple of times but still he finally conquered his fear of the "big" pool.  He looked fear straight in the eye and pounced on it. 
    My baby is growing up.
    I have already given up on the older boy- he is hell bent on growing up and I am completely powerless to stop it.  But, I was hoping to hold onto the other one for a bit longer.
   Lucky for me my little nephew is only a year old, still likes to cuddle and thinks I am the greatest thing since sliced bread.  He hasn't learned to talk back yet, has no idea what a "DS" is and still needs me to sing him to sleep when he doesn't feel well.  Of course, he will soon grow up too and then I will be left with nothing more than the memories of little boys that used to need me.
    Don't get me wrong, I know they all  have to grow up and I truely want them too.  It's just that after so many years of teaching high school, I wish they could all just skip the teenage years and go straight to adulthood.
   A couple of months ago I was leaving work at the end of the day and I witnessed a terrible accident.  A young man was riding spread eagle on the hood of his friends car.  The friend thought it would be funny to slam on the brakes, completely unaware of the law of physics that states an object in motion will stay in motion.  The car stopped moving but the young man on it, did not.  He stumbled backward, crashing to the ground and fracturing his skull.  Many years of lifeguarding paid off as I jumped into immediate action calling 911 and telling the boy not to get up.  It was not until after he was en route to a hospital and I was driving home, did my adrenaline rush crash and I fully realized what had happened.  Every time I closed my eyes that night I saw that boy falling from the car.  Eventually his face was replaced by that of each of my sons.  By morning i had vowed that neither of them would ever drive a car.  In fact I was prepared to go online and find them each their own personal bubbles to live in.
    Boys will be boys.  That's what they say, right?
   An excuse for stupidty?
   An explanation for underdevelopoed frontal lobes?
   A catch all intended to expalin what no mother before me has ever been able to explain?
   When I hear the words "Hey, Mom, watch this!"  from my little one I cringe in fear and pray that this will not be the day that he explores the laws of physics.
   It is no secret that I have always longed for a little girl.  When I see the beautiful dresses and pretty little bows and sweet little outfits, a part of my heart cries for never being able to be a part of that world. 
   But, then I realize I have been tasked with the very important job of raising boys (A job that is not for the faint of heart, believe you me!)  and I marvel at the faith God must have in me and my husband not to mess it up!
    I will never shop for prom dresses or watch my daughter as she finds the perfect wedding dress.  I will never be in the delivery room as my little girl brings her own little girl into the world but I will always have a dandelion ("flower") floating in a cup of water on the kitchen counter and an abundance of rocks, sea shells and sticks around the house.  I will watch my boys become young men and cry as they escort their dates to prom.  I'll watch as they go off to college or the military and pray that they are protected.  I will be there when they kiss their new brides for the very first time and I will cry with joy when I hold my newborn grandchildren.
     Boys will always be boys but more importantly, they will one day be men.  It is a great privelege to be tasked with the duty of raising a boy.  A privelege I will always be grateful for.