I once read in a blog one time about a mother raising her 3 boys. In a particular entry, the stated that she sometimes felt like she didn't have little boys, but rather, bouncy balls. I laughed at first, but soon realized that is exactly how I feel most of the time being around my 4 boys. You know, just picture it. What happens if you were to drop 4 bouncy balls to the floor? They bounce in every direction, with no control whatsoever. The balls run into and potentially break anything in it's path. Exactly the perfect description for my 4 active, busy boys.
I am an only child and I once believed that was a sad and lonely way to be raised. Then I married Beau and it was so exciting because he had 5 younger brothers. I immediately started envisioning how my holidays and family get togethers would be like from then on. It would be a joyous time for family to sit around and reminisce, play games, and make new memories. What I failed to understand that eventhough all 6 Bennett brothers had the same parents, each boy was significantly different. And boys play differently than girls. Remember the bouncy balls? They fight, they pick at each other, they wrestle, they compete, they brag, and they joke around...ruthlessly. It didn't take me long to see that these family gatherings were going to fall short of my plans, and I would leave each time with a migraine from the noise and sensory overload.
I used to tease my sweet, beloved mother in law, Becki that I would NEVER have a house full of boys. Beau and I had always thought we would be happy with 2, maybe 3 children. I wanted girls and Beau swore he could only conceive boys. Either way, I figured I would have at least one girl. I used to almost pity Becki because of the constant rucous at the Bennett home. I used to not understand how the house could become so messy and beat up. I mean, seriously, all it took was a little organization and daily clean up to keep the house in order. I would never let things get out of control if I was the mother of a bunch of boys. This coming for a girl who had NO children yet. It's always easy to fix other people's problems, isn't it?
Well, Beau and I have been married for 13+ years and we are now the lucky parents of 4, yes, 4 boys. I know Becki is laughing from beyond the grave. And I deserve it too. Boys are noisy. Boys play rough. Boys are incredibly inquisitive. Boys are very independent. Boys like to "figure" things out. Boys like to "fix" things. Boys like to take things apart so that they can "figure them out and fix them". Needless to say, there is NEVER a dull moment in our home. There are some days that I am ready to pull my hair out. Days where I just want to hide so that I can have some quiet time to finish my thoughts. There are even days when I would like to drive my kids 20 miles away, drop them off, and speed home hoping they would never find their way back. Although, I know Oliver would definitely find him way home. His sense of direction is amazing.
But then moments like last night occur making being a mommy of 4 boys awesome. Will and Ollie had a hard time going to sleep and so they were up giggling and talking. For the first time ever, I simply ignored them. I was curious to see what they would do if left unattended. After about 30 minutes of "controlled" goofing around, they fell asleep together in the same bed holding hands.
I may have been an only child where my home was quiet, controlled, organized, clean, and non-chaotic. Although those are all great things, I will never have the memories of falling asleep with my sibling holding hands, or staying up late giggling, or learning how to share at such a young age, or having a best friend and worst enemy all wrapped up into one person, or having someone else to blame for the broken lamp in the house.
So, I guess, if I am going to raise 4 bouncy balls, I am thankful for the ones I have.
