boys

Yesterday I met my friend at the park for a playdate. We have six kids between the two of us and five of them are boys. And our children can not make it through a playdate without some form of bodily injury occurring. Sometimes the injury occurs on purpose and other times it is just the result of rough-housing. Today was no exception and we watched as the four oldest boys threw each other to the ground, swung each other around, jumped on one another and ran into each other. We tried several times to suggest other games but it would inevitably turn back into play-fighting or wrestling.
We stood there watching them, talking about what it might be like to have four girls instead. Would they be running around pretending to be fairy princesses? Or would they set up an imaginary ice cream shop on the playground? Would there be less bodily injuries, less cries of "he kicked me" or "he pushed me down"?
I don't really know because God didn't give me an abundance of girls. Instead, He gave me these rough-and-tumble boys whose favorite part of the day is rough-housing with Daddy when he gets home. It seems to be part of their nature, this desire to prove their strength, to pit themselves against each other. I don't really understand it but I don't have to. I just have to love them and rein them in every once in a while.



photo by: Reginaloves  http://www.flickr.com/photos/reginarose/3989527134/