Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Boystown

Some friends of mine took their two little girls to see "Barbie Live in Fairytopia" this weekend.

Please pass me a bucket.

Let me start out by saying that I'm not knocking little girls, and never would. I think they're beautiful, adorable, wonderful creatures. But if I had to deal with all the Barbie and Disney Princess stuff that my friends with daughters have to, I think I might barf till I turned inside out.

I was never a girl who was into that stuff, even when I was little. Sure, I had a Barbie or two, and even a baby doll. But I was much more into stuffed animals as the objects of my affection. I liked to play sports and ride my bike and fly kites and model airplanes. I played with Legos and Lincoln Logs, and I was car crazy long before I was boy crazy. I was the one girl in my scout troop who wasn't afraid of bugs, and so I was the one to always save the cabin by picking the june bug up and flicking him out the door.

If we had a little girl, I know we'd adore her - ruffles and frills or not. My mom was also a tomboy girl, and I suspect my daughter might also be. But just in case ... I'm so happy I have a little boy. The Lord in His infinite wisdom gave the Hub and me a son. And the heavens opened up, and the angels sang. Or maybe that was the Hub singing. But in any case ... ~

It's not always great being the minority in my house. With husband, son, and dog all of strong will and personality, incessantly exerting their manliness, I'm usually fighting losing battles (LOL). I sometimes think it might be nice to have another being with ovaries in the house who might help me balance out the estrogen to testosterone levels.

But then again, I feel perfectly at home in my element.

Especially with Incrediboy.

He's so into the typical boy things. Anything with wheels or an engine is the best thing ever. He's thrilled by the stars and the moon. Airplanes and helicopters. Heavy construction equipment, trucks, and trains. Tools and appliances. Animals, birds and bugs. Playing ball. Going for rides on the tractor. Building skyscrapers with his blocks. The Wiggles. Bob the Builder. Thomas the Tank Engine. All fun, great stuff. Stuff I was into, and can be into with him. And no tutus or tiaras. YESSS! The tomboy in me does a victory dance in the endzone!

There's another added perk too. You see, I'm the last person in my office to have a child. Everyone went before me, and therefore I have been bombarded with badgering on procreating, followed by expert advice on everything imaginable, from the time we even thought about thinking about starting a family to this day.

But guess what. The owners - they have a girl. Their daughter and her husband, both coworkers, they have 2 girls. My other office mate - has a girl. Which means ...

I'm the only one with a boy.

It's silly really, but it makes me feel uber-special (not to mention impishly smug) to finally have claim to something no one else has experience with in my office. After all the grasshopper-toned, unsolicited (though not unappreciated) advice and guidance I've received about everything parent and baby - and even though I'm the last one to join the ranks - when it comes down to it, I have something special. A boy. The only one.

(Grin) ... It's pretty cool.

14 comments:

Michael Lehet said...

That show is coming here too (or was here I can't recall) but I asked The Boyfriends 6-year old son if he wanted to go see it...at which point he went "ewwwwhhhhh that's for GIRLS!"

Joy said...

clew this post was awesome!!! like you, i didn't own too many barbies or dolls - most of my imaginative play as a child were with the many stuffed animals that i had. :) i agree with you in that boys are cool - girls can be so high maintenance. ;)

and i looove the name for your son - Incrediboy.....it's great!! :D

Melzie said...

I prwefer boys. :) I'd have to raise any girl as a tomboy, LOL.

Bainwen Gilrana said...

I so hope that I do not have a little girl. Yikes. Barbie Fairytopia? I would be curled up in a fetal position crying by the end of that.

Maybe that would be a good daddy-daughter activity, should the need ever arise.

i used to be me said...

I was never a tomboy and I was happy I had a daughter, except between ages 14-17 when she decided she knew more than I did.

I was totally unexpecting of what boys are like when my grandson was born. He's been a whirlwind from birth...just so busy! He's the love of my life though.

A-Real-Man said...

Clew,
I am going to give you the male perspective the easy way. I have a son who is now grown, he is a Marine. Nuf' said.

I think that you did kind of get your coworkers when you had a boy and all the rest have girls. Everyone I have ever asked have said the same thing and I have experienced this also, boys are easier to raise than girls. But there is nothing like having your daughter hug you when she is heading our all decked out for the prom or homecoming dance. I love my daughters very much and they are very different both from each other and from my son and I would not trade them for any other children.

IHS, Craig

Rebecca said...

hahaha, great post Clew. ;)

I too, was a total Tomboy. I didn't find my "girlie girlieness" until I was well into my 20s. And I still have quite an edge to me.

But, having a little girl is very fun. AND - my little girl is all tomboy at this stage. She loves the Thomas the Trains, and trucks and balls... And while she'll push her stuffed animals or doll in a mini baby carriage -she'd rather play in the dirt on any given day.

It's quite interesting being Mom to a girl - especially being that she's the only one in the family! :)

Being a Mom is just plain fun.

Nelly said...

I grew up with two other sisters (me in the middle) and we played dolls all the time and wore pretty dresses but we also played in the dirt and with bugs and stuff. I don't recall having cars and trucks, but I'm sure we had a couple. When I got pregnant with my son, I was a little disappointed when we went to the ultrasound and they said "it's a boy!" I had grown up with nothing but girls and had no idea what to do. When I got pregnant with my daughter and went to the ultrasound, I was praying for a boy because HE was all I knew. When they said "it's a girl!" at first I was a little scared but I thought it would be cool to have one of each. She is the best thing in the world. Such a girl in some ways and a boy in other ways. She LOVES to play with cars and trucks with her brother. If I were to have a 3rd, I think I would like another boy.

Martie said...

Silly girl....you know you would do things just to make Incrediboy happy and you would do the same for any little girl that you might have had....even sitting through a "Barbie Fairytopia" movie if need be. That's just the kind of "Mom" you are!

clew said...

(Yes, I'm actually responding to comments! Can you believe it?)

Michael - LOL! I'm with the boy! Ewwwwwhh!

Joy - Somehow I knew you would relate! ;)

Frog Legs - I'm with you, but one thing I've heard from the masses, is that kids will like that they like and that's that. Scary thought eh? If we ever have girls though, we'll do our best!!!

Bainwen - Daddy-Daughter activity! YEAH! I love it!

It's Just Me - My prayers are with you this weekend, Sister - LOL.

Genius & Craig - I hear what you're saying, and let it not be misunderstood that if we'd have a girl we'd absolutely adore her. But the other side of the story is I'm terrified to have a girl, because if I had me as a daughter, especially during the teen years, I'd kill me!

Rebecca - You got it. You always get it. :) I wouldn't enpect anything different from the daughter of such a cool mom!!! BTW if we ever WOULD have a girl, be prepared for me to seek your advice. On everything. Hee hee!

Nelly - Everything works out the way it should, eh? I was scared of either possibility at first. I'm the youngest in my family and my brother lives so far away I rarely see all them. So I had NO experience with babies! Scary days! :)

Martie - Of course I would do that if it made her happy. But I'd still need a bucket. ;D

Speckledpup said...

I never understood Barbie. My mom, after 5 boys, bought me every barbie that came down the pike.
I wanted to play with the hotwheels cars and dig tunnels with the boys.
still do.

I hear ya.

CrackerLilo said...

This is so cute! Seems like everything's working out just fine! :-)

Cheryl said...

I never got the Barbie and Princess and Pink thing myself, even as a kid. My Boy suits me just fine, too. Although I've often thought that if I had a girl, I'd probably figure out what to do with her. :)

Anonymous said...

I was my father's son. Instead of dresses and baby dolls, I wanted a football, shoulder pads, and a helmet. It broke my heart when my father told me that I couldn't grow up to be the quarterback of the Washington Redskins.