Bouncing Baby Boys

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that although I spent most of my growing-up life wishing for a home and a family, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I loved the idea of "home" and "family", but really had no experience with anything beyond the one I grew up in. While that gave me a good idea of what I wanted my home to be like in terms of the way people interacted with and cared for each other, I still had basically no experience at all of life with small children. I had a grand total of ONE babysitting job in my life, and somehow something like two hours with an 8 to 10 month old (where they spent about half the time sleeping) doesn't really give you a real good idea of what life with kids is really like.

Then I grew up, got married, and started having little ones of my own. Three of them, to be exact. And all boys.

Now boys are wonderful and amazing things ... snips and snails and puppy dog tails, as the old poem goes. But there's a reason they call them "bouncing baby boys." The reason is they rarely ever STOP "bouncing", in one form or another. If they are old enough to be be mobile, they are bouncing all over the house, rarely staying out of anything, especially if they have been regularly told they are SUPPOSED to stay out of it. If they can talk, their thoughts bounce from one thing to another at the speed of light, making conversation challenging (though entertaining) at times. They are never quiet unless they are sleeping, and their shouts and laughter and other noises bounce of the walls, ceiling and eardrums ... sometimes in enjoyable ways, and sometimes with all the pleasantness of nails on a chalkboard. They (literally and figuratively) bounce off walls, couches, beds, and whatever else they can come up with. Even their toys have a way of bouncing off things as they toss, sling, crash, and drop them.

Sometimes it gets to be a bit much for this mostly quiet-natured Mommy, but I work hard at reminding myself that it is important for them to be able to do most of these things. I also remind myself that sometimes maybe I need to quit worrying so much about all the things that "need" doing, and take part in their silliness, both for their enjoyment and for mine. Because having these "bouncing baby boys" has taught me that they also bounce right into your heart when they arrive in the world. With three of them bouncing around on my heartstrings, it's bound to make some lively music. And when you've got good music, sometimes you just have to stop and dance.