My wife of 56 years and I have 3 sons. Early on there was disappointment that we never had a girl, but no longer. Our boys treat their mother like a a queen, especially now that we're inching toward 80. I noticed this after the graduation of our younger granddaughter, in a class of over 1,700. The crowd leaving the stadium was huge. Our middle son wrapped his arm around my wife and guided her through the crowd to the car. (He trusted me to make it on my own, which I did!) The boys are always checking on their mother, and I am confident that if I go first they will do their utmost to help her.
I love this so much!! As a middle school teacher, I could have written almost the same list! I would add that boys like knowing facts, which is one reason curricular reforms that focus on group discussion and nebulous outcomes don't tend to engage them, i.e. "What do you think the author meant by blah blah blah? There are no wrong answers!" Then what's the point?!
Boys do love to work, bless their little hearts. My favorite way to get them to help move books or boxes is to ask them and add, "if it's not too heavy for you." Works every time!
My grandmother blatantly favored my brother over my mother and in her era, the '40s, he was the one who got to go to college even though she was smarter. Nursing school was her only option. Mom was an early adopter of second wave feminism and would never let me forget what women went through, but she loved her boys and grandsons and their masculine energy and would defend them too. Thanks so much for this, Larissa!
BTW I think your farm needs a sweet Mini Nubian boy, special price just for you!🐐
Thank you for that. I would like to add that we are never more satisfied or more imbued with purpose than when we are being useful to the women in our lives. Whether we're fishing a spider out of the kitchen sink, scooping up and disposing of something no one wants to touch, or building a garage, we love to feel needed and need to feel loved. The great thing about us is we would trade our life for yours in an instance without having to think about it. We are always on call. Nothing means more to us than taking care of you, protecting you, and impressing you with our feats of strength and bravery. We are always 10 years old.
I love ALL of my children and grandchildren with my whole heart, but my 7-yr-old grandson is the inspiration and light of my life. For all the reasons you shared, he keeps me young and hopeful for the future.
Three boy mama here! I grew up with 5 sisters and a line brother. I cried and drank a glass of champagne with rare tuna when I found out the last was a boy😜 but now, 24 years after my first, I could not be more grateful for these young men and boys. They love there mama something fierce. They snuggle, and ask me to make special things, and open doors, and pick me flowers...and wipe boogers on the wall, and pick up every creature they find, wrestle until they break something, their feet stink and they are more competitive than anyone I've known. They are sweet and sensitive, urgent and capable, strong and curious. I can truly say that I love being a mama of three boys. They are great teachers. And when we cleared our land and the structures,you best bet they carried the heaviest loads and the worst conditions. The bros, my guys, my loves.
Haha aww! A friend who found out in an early test that her 3rd baby was a boy said “should I even go through with it?” She was totally joking, but it was an adjustment. That baby turned out to be the biggest love bug, as are her other two. ❤️
I like this different perspective! I know not everyone's gonna agree with this, but those people, are they even moms? The feminists that criticize the patriarchy (that's fine), have they even experienced the patriarchy? Do they realize that the same way your grandma was uplifting boys more than girls, they might be uplifting girls more than boys? Like why can't everyone just agree that boys and girls are different but not that different and we can all just be friends and do what we're good at, no matter the gender? And that gender isn't a set of trends and statistics? Like just because a girl likes doing risky things or getting muddy doesn't mean she's not gender conforming. Since when is gender "boys do this and girls do that"? Like yeah there's general trends you have observed, and there's trends I observe among girls. But those trends don't define the boy gender and the girl gender. Gender is simply based on biology.
I had one of each and it was fascinating to see how they handled conflict with playmates.My son played football with the neighborhood boys and every now and then one would get his feelings hurt and would end up going home in tears. They were 7 or 8 so tears were okay. Anyway, the game went on without Dickie - and 10 minutes later Dickie would come back, take his place and nothing was ever said nor was Dickie banned from playing anymore because he didn't get his way. They are friends 50 years later.
My dear daughter on the other hand had a blowup over some long ago forgotten issue with the neighorhood girlfriend. She came home in a huff and never went back outside - nor did their young friendship survive. My daughter could - and still does - hold a grudge.
I have three boys that I adore and am pretty sure adore me, but I still spent a whole decade after the last one trying for a girl. No luck. But I now have a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter and even my dog is female. Girl power is making a comeback in this household.
I like this different perspective! I know not everyone's gonna agree with this, but those people, are they even moms? The feminists that criticize the patriarchy (that's fine), have they even experienced the patriarchy? Do they realize that the same way your grandma was uplifting boys more than girls, they might be uplifting girls more than boys? Like why can't everyone just agree that boys and girls are different but not that different and we can all just be friends and do what we're good at, no matter the gender? And that gender isn't a set of trends and statistics? Like just because a girl likes doing risky things or getting muddy doesn't mean she's not gender conforming. Since when is gender "boys do this and girls do that"? Like yeah there's general trends you have observed, and there's trends I observe among girls. But those trends don't define the boy gender and the girl gender. Gender is simply based on biology.
But wait - didn’t you and your sister grow up in the ‘70s or so? The women’s movement was going full throttle at that point - how could your grandmothers have missed what was everywhere? They should have been praising you to the skies and encouraging you to play with trucks and blocks and gate latches (even if you really wanted to cuddle a doll). Maybe they lived in very traditional communities?
Both of my grandmothers were strong, forthright women, even a bit bossy. But they weren’t necessarily feminists and probably thought the feminists were taking things a little too far.
They were filled with contradictions, both of them, the way most people are.
lol. I grew up in the 70s and let me tell you that ERA did not reach as far as you might think. I am not sure it got much further than the coast. Enormous swaths of America - the thick middle - was still living in 1957. As a first generation, I can tell you that boys - especially first-born boys - were kings and princes. Women were there to serve and possibly to do their bookkeeping while they were out conquering the world.
My wife of 56 years and I have 3 sons. Early on there was disappointment that we never had a girl, but no longer. Our boys treat their mother like a a queen, especially now that we're inching toward 80. I noticed this after the graduation of our younger granddaughter, in a class of over 1,700. The crowd leaving the stadium was huge. Our middle son wrapped his arm around my wife and guided her through the crowd to the car. (He trusted me to make it on my own, which I did!) The boys are always checking on their mother, and I am confident that if I go first they will do their utmost to help her.
I love this so much!! As a middle school teacher, I could have written almost the same list! I would add that boys like knowing facts, which is one reason curricular reforms that focus on group discussion and nebulous outcomes don't tend to engage them, i.e. "What do you think the author meant by blah blah blah? There are no wrong answers!" Then what's the point?!
Boys do love to work, bless their little hearts. My favorite way to get them to help move books or boxes is to ask them and add, "if it's not too heavy for you." Works every time!
My grandmother blatantly favored my brother over my mother and in her era, the '40s, he was the one who got to go to college even though she was smarter. Nursing school was her only option. Mom was an early adopter of second wave feminism and would never let me forget what women went through, but she loved her boys and grandsons and their masculine energy and would defend them too. Thanks so much for this, Larissa!
BTW I think your farm needs a sweet Mini Nubian boy, special price just for you!🐐
Haha don’t tempt me!
Yes I think your mom has the right mix!
Thank you for that. I would like to add that we are never more satisfied or more imbued with purpose than when we are being useful to the women in our lives. Whether we're fishing a spider out of the kitchen sink, scooping up and disposing of something no one wants to touch, or building a garage, we love to feel needed and need to feel loved. The great thing about us is we would trade our life for yours in an instance without having to think about it. We are always on call. Nothing means more to us than taking care of you, protecting you, and impressing you with our feats of strength and bravery. We are always 10 years old.
The only thing better than sons is grandsons 😊
I love ALL of my children and grandchildren with my whole heart, but my 7-yr-old grandson is the inspiration and light of my life. For all the reasons you shared, he keeps me young and hopeful for the future.
Larissa, you are spot on. I am so tired of the idiot wokesters dumping all over boys, so your commentary is soooooo refreshing!
Three boy mama here! I grew up with 5 sisters and a line brother. I cried and drank a glass of champagne with rare tuna when I found out the last was a boy😜 but now, 24 years after my first, I could not be more grateful for these young men and boys. They love there mama something fierce. They snuggle, and ask me to make special things, and open doors, and pick me flowers...and wipe boogers on the wall, and pick up every creature they find, wrestle until they break something, their feet stink and they are more competitive than anyone I've known. They are sweet and sensitive, urgent and capable, strong and curious. I can truly say that I love being a mama of three boys. They are great teachers. And when we cleared our land and the structures,you best bet they carried the heaviest loads and the worst conditions. The bros, my guys, my loves.
Haha aww! A friend who found out in an early test that her 3rd baby was a boy said “should I even go through with it?” She was totally joking, but it was an adjustment. That baby turned out to be the biggest love bug, as are her other two. ❤️
I like this different perspective! I know not everyone's gonna agree with this, but those people, are they even moms? The feminists that criticize the patriarchy (that's fine), have they even experienced the patriarchy? Do they realize that the same way your grandma was uplifting boys more than girls, they might be uplifting girls more than boys? Like why can't everyone just agree that boys and girls are different but not that different and we can all just be friends and do what we're good at, no matter the gender? And that gender isn't a set of trends and statistics? Like just because a girl likes doing risky things or getting muddy doesn't mean she's not gender conforming. Since when is gender "boys do this and girls do that"? Like yeah there's general trends you have observed, and there's trends I observe among girls. But those trends don't define the boy gender and the girl gender. Gender is simply based on biology.
I had one of each and it was fascinating to see how they handled conflict with playmates.My son played football with the neighborhood boys and every now and then one would get his feelings hurt and would end up going home in tears. They were 7 or 8 so tears were okay. Anyway, the game went on without Dickie - and 10 minutes later Dickie would come back, take his place and nothing was ever said nor was Dickie banned from playing anymore because he didn't get his way. They are friends 50 years later.
My dear daughter on the other hand had a blowup over some long ago forgotten issue with the neighorhood girlfriend. She came home in a huff and never went back outside - nor did their young friendship survive. My daughter could - and still does - hold a grudge.
I have three boys that I adore and am pretty sure adore me, but I still spent a whole decade after the last one trying for a girl. No luck. But I now have a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter and even my dog is female. Girl power is making a comeback in this household.
I like this different perspective! I know not everyone's gonna agree with this, but those people, are they even moms? The feminists that criticize the patriarchy (that's fine), have they even experienced the patriarchy? Do they realize that the same way your grandma was uplifting boys more than girls, they might be uplifting girls more than boys? Like why can't everyone just agree that boys and girls are different but not that different and we can all just be friends and do what we're good at, no matter the gender? And that gender isn't a set of trends and statistics? Like just because a girl likes doing risky things or getting muddy doesn't mean she's not gender conforming. Since when is gender "boys do this and girls do that"? Like yeah there's general trends you have observed, and there's trends I observe among girls. But those trends don't define the boy gender and the girl gender. Gender is simply based on biology.
But wait - didn’t you and your sister grow up in the ‘70s or so? The women’s movement was going full throttle at that point - how could your grandmothers have missed what was everywhere? They should have been praising you to the skies and encouraging you to play with trucks and blocks and gate latches (even if you really wanted to cuddle a doll). Maybe they lived in very traditional communities?
Both of my grandmothers were strong, forthright women, even a bit bossy. But they weren’t necessarily feminists and probably thought the feminists were taking things a little too far.
They were filled with contradictions, both of them, the way most people are.
lol. I grew up in the 70s and let me tell you that ERA did not reach as far as you might think. I am not sure it got much further than the coast. Enormous swaths of America - the thick middle - was still living in 1957. As a first generation, I can tell you that boys - especially first-born boys - were kings and princes. Women were there to serve and possibly to do their bookkeeping while they were out conquering the world.