It's a Boy's World

I grew up as the only daughter in a house full of brothers. Whether by nurture or nature, I was not a girly girl. As a child, I was dragged along through all sorts of boy-centric activities and actually loved most of it. My mother on the other hand was a bit dismayed that the girly girl she imagined never fledged. But that was a good thing after all. My life as the only girl in a boy's world trained me for my life as a mother of boys.

I am still the only girl in the house.

It was fine being a girl when the boys were babies, toddlers, preschoolers and early elementary aged as well. Then, as Only Girl, I could connect with them in a myriad of genderless ways. Their boy-ness wasn't fully developed then and, being raised Only Girl, I could handle the times when their boy behavior was apparent.  I even encouraged their boy-beings to come out; I know how to play like a boy. Give me paper dolls and I get bored quickly. But sure, let's play Mumbley Peg! That's fun.

Now my boys are teenager and tween, and there is no mistaking that they are boys and I am not. Thank goodness they have their Dad. He, of course, has been here all along but his presence is so much more vital now that the boys are older, more like young men. Their activity choices are no longer as genderless as when they were young. Don't rag on me for stereotyping (stereotypes exist for real reasons, you know) but they truly like things that most girls don't. Only Girl would have loved tagging along with my boys on their male escapades but now Only Not So Young Anymore Girl is not quite so daring or able. Thankfully she has a camera and is happy to act as historian.

And thankfully Overgrown Boy (a.k.a. my husband) is here to build, coach, wrestle, work higher math problems, code software, play with fire, and many other man-boy things.

Like launching rockets.

Climbing walls

Doing crazy high ropes courses

(I would have done this one but was wearing the wrong shoes. Seriously.)

Driving race cars

Lying on beds of nails

Oh wait...I did that one!

Holding snakes

Competing in hours-long, brain wave competitions

In this case, fewer waves are better!

Indoor skydiving

(I did that one too...but no picture to prove it...)

and driving practice.

As these boys continue to grow into men, Only Girl will be happy to participate when she can and take pictures of and blog about it all.