Feel loved! (part 2 - the men in our life)
I was raised by a single mother in a house with pink walls and pink carpets. My father was across the country in a different time zone and so were my brothers. I was the baby of the family by a long shot. They were playing High school football when I was just learning to walk. It was just us girls.
Fast forward to life just before September 2018, when my daughter was born, and I lived in a house full of boys. My husband and four sons have been teaching me about the differences between men and women. Each one of them is INCREDIBLY different, but what do they have in common? They connect with the world in physical ways, they love to wrestle, build, create (aka LEGOS and art), be naked and they can’t stand to see their mama cry. I had a wise friend tell me that if I wanted to really reach the boys when they were making bad decisions…. don’t yell at them… let them see the hurt their poor choice caused and let them see my tears. Well, let me tell you folks… it didn’t take much… I had tears well up in my eyes when my one son decided to speak inappropriately to me… I told him softly and sadly that it hurt to hear him disrespect me in that way! He immediately had tears well up in his eyes and he ran over, gave me a hug, and apologized for speaking harshly. I was like, WHOA! She is on to something!
Then came the day my heart melted into a puddle on the floor. Our daughter, Wren, joined our family and changed the dynamics of our home of boys! It was instant from the youngest (who was 18 months at the time) to the oldest (who was on the verge of his 7th birthday). These boys IMMEDIATELY responded to this little girl baby so differently. They were more gentle, spoke more sweetly, and began protecting her the very moment they met her. It has been just incredible to watch. I joke that they are obsessed with her, but that isn’t far from the truth.
Now, not all men and women have had healthy familial relationships modeled for them. That truth hurts my heart. I think everyone deserves a home with an in tact family where respect and love abound. But, in the walls of my home where my husband models love and respect for me… it has been such a beautiful thing to watch the innate love, respect, and care my tiny boys and their father give my daughter. In my boys’ innocent and pure state, I believe that is what God has placed in them. They have not been tainted by the ugly parts of this world. They are just naturally inclined to treat her differently and it is just a beautiful thing.
When I experience the love my husband and boys have for me and Wren, I am just filled with gratitude and joy for that aspect of womanhood. To feel adored and cherished… it is what every woman deserves! I am so thankful for the privilege it is to be a “Boy Mom” and to have experienced their divinely appointed gifts and precious natures. Wren and I are the luckiest girl in the land to feel loved this way! Also, added bonus! We are wonderfully desensitized to all nakedness!
