Being a little boy’s mama is knowing to point the penis down in a diaper, and probably getting a face full of urine at least once in your life. It means having to educate a child on owning a body that you know shockingly little about (testosterone, masturbation, facial hair), and answering questions like, “Why it straight, mommy? OH NO, WHY IS MY PENIS STRAIGHT?!” (Being a mama to only boys may also mean quietly weeping for the useless advice you have about owning ovaries and wild mood swings.) Being a little boy’s mama means pockets full of wildflowers and dandelions. It means cuddles and compliments and thoughtful gestures from a miniature gentleman. Being a little boy’s mama means hearing phrases like, “Boys belong to their future wives, girls belong to their moms forever” and dying a little inside. It means finding rocks hidden around the house. It means wincing at cultural slang like, “Man up!” and “Don’t be such a girl” — wishing you could put a force field around his tiny spirit. Being a little boy’s mama means teaching the lesson of “NO” — especially when it comes to someone’s body or personal space. It means not only teaching respect, but modeling what a respectful, strong, capable woman actually is. It’s declaring that your son will not be that guy who creepily grinds up behind an unsuspecting girl in a club, or catcalls a woman walking across the street, or starts a drunken brawl. (And then accepting that it’s a possibility.) Being a little boy’s mama means prematurely mourning his high-pitched chipmunk voice, realizing that you’ll eventually hear a deeper, stronger, manlier voice. It means knowing that one day you’ll be looking up at your child. It means kissing his cheek and knowing that, one day, it will be prickly or unshaven. It means looking at his chest and legs and knowing that hair will cover his baby-soft skin. Being a little boy’s mama means always going, moving, running, energy. It means muddy shoes, bandaged legs, and breath-catching stunts that nearly stop your heart. It means surrendering to rough housing and accepting the bloody noses. It means playing certain games and watching certain movies that you really have no interest in, and yet still enjoy seeing through the ninja-superhero-karate perspective because it’s his perspective. Being a little boy’s mama means loving your husband the same way you’d want your son to be loved. Being a little boy’s mama means seeing the little boy in all men, and feeling more empathetic than you were before. Being a little boy’s mama will change you — harden you in some places, soften you in others — but will ultimately give the sweetest memories of when, for a brief period, you were everything to a sticky-faced little man.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:30:11 +0000
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