Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails!

     As you are probably all aware, I am a girl.  I like things to smell good, I like to be clean, I like to get dressed up on occasion and pretend to have some class. I like wearing make-up. I like frilly skirts. I like the color purple, can tolerate the color pink. I am a girl. But, this girl lives in a house full of boys.
     Most of the time, the fact that I have three handsome fellas around me delights me more than I care to admit. Most of the time, thinking of my future with three strapping lads around to do the heavy lifting for me fills me with a level of giddiness that would make Susan B.Anthony turn in her grave. BUT...
     BOYS ARE GROSS!!!
     They smell. They are dirty. They don't have the same definition of "tidy." I am convinced they are physically incapable of closing a toilet seat.  They eat everything in the house. They delight themselves (and each other) with their functions. And don't even get me started on their delight for their personal anatomy. 
     I have learned to change some of my interests and expectations to accommodate living with boys. I may be a girl, but I am also a zombie lover, a video game player, a dirt digger, a bug lover, and a camper.  There are often times I have to turn the other way or bite my lip to keep myself from exploding my unreasonable expectations all over them.  Once I did this, and I got a reply from my then four year old Larger Child that knocked me on my butt.  He said, "Mom, little boys are suppose to get dirty." Yup, he's right. They are.  And moms of little boys are suppose to encourage this, and get REALLY good at stain removal in their laundry.
     Then again, boys are also such a gift!
     The bond between a little boy and his Mama is well, it's magical. I get the blessing of being their first love, their first Valentine, their first date, and their first kiss. What good man do you know that isn't still in love with his Mama?  Sure, Daddy gets the rough and tumble stuff.  But, I'm the one that gets to see the vulnerable and sweet side. 
     I love my boys. I love who I have become because of my boys. They have challenged me in a way that I did not expect. All three of them have shaped me in to the strong woman I am and am becoming today. I know there is a lot more unexpected, interesting, dirty, stinky stain filled challenges to come.... and to that I say (with my spot remover in hand)  BRING IT ON! I can't wait!