"Momma, I have bug!" He loves bugs and is not scared of them. His mother may be. A little.
In Detroit last month, we were in a nature park of sorts when Caleb promptly bent down next to a turtle and attempted to pick it up. Talk about heart attack. Me and the turtle. He didn't care one bit that the turtle was hissing at him. My brother-in-law commented that it was a pretty big turtle. The man has seriously not been in Texas enough because the turtle was maybe 6 inches across and that is small by our standards. Nonetheless, it was big enough to make me freak out a little and wonder why God thought I could handle boys. I don't have a brother and my sister was (is) so scared of bugs you could throw a piece of dark yarn her way and she'd run off screaming. Not that that ever happened. I'm just saying one could do that. (God knew what he was doing giving her a girl because she is SERIOUSLY scared of bugs!).
Justin's been reading Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and I just got a book called That's My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character by Rick Johnson. Both books make the point that moms can be overprotective when it comes to boys because we are much more likely to value safety and security over adventure. I can already see that's true in the way that Justin and I parent. But, as both books point out, boys have to be able to be adventurous in order to gain a sense of masculinity. If I want my boys to grow up to be men who protect their own families, I have to give them some space to be boys in the growing-up years. I definitely need to work on that!
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4 comments:
Thank you for this post! Its such a great reminder how we should parent little boys.
I find that Devyn is just as attracted to bugs, maybe its a toddler-thing? She often picks up ants and then cries when she realizes that she squished them to death. =)
This is a timely post, since I'm anxious to see how my nephew will act towards animals and bugs when I see him in July.
It's funny, I can picture myself (in the future) being a little too protective when I have children.
Thanks for this post and the book titles. I'll have to keep them in mind.
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I could not quit laughing when I read this. You left out the part where you used to chase me around the house with crickets until I was huddled in a corner crying!!! I prefer to call it a phobia not a fear actually. I feel like it justifies my reaction. :) Anyway, I am dreading the day Ava picks up any kind of insect, reptile, etc. She may just have to keep it until her daddy gets home. Okay, I have to quit thinking about this now because I am starting to get tense!
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