Saturday, June 29, 2013

Boys to Men





Self Sacrifice! It is the plight of a mother. Good mothers give and give until they can give no more. Right? I was raised believing this. One of my favorite books growing up was The Giving Tree. It was so touching and reminded me so much of my mother. The tree that never stopped giving until she no longer had anything left for herself or the boy. Now, as a 38 year old mother of three highly energetic boys, I wonder. No doubt the tree loved the boy but did he ever learn anything from her gestures of giving and self-sacrifice? I think not. Raising healthy boys is not achieved by sacrificing your happiness to help them achieve theirs.
What is this teaching my three young boys? It is teaching them that their happiness is more important than mommy’s. This isn’t so terrible when they are young but fast forward to the teenage years. I envision three boys assuming that mom’s job is to do their dishes, do their laundry, clean their bathrooms, clean their rooms while they lounge on the couch playing video games.
No. My role is to take care of myself which will in turn make my boys better prepared for the world.  It is a fine line. A balancing act. I will teach them to become self sufficient young men by challenging them in and out of our home.  Raising healthy, self-sufficient boys means teaching them how to do their own laundry, wash the dishes, sew a button, balance a check book and change a tire. Their wives and girlfriends will thank me!
So, instead of being left with only a stump and a silly old man as in The Giving Tree my goal is that my boys will become self sufficient MEN.


Disclaimer: While raising boys into good, honest, strong, successful men is my goal , sometimes you
just don't know what the future may hold.

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