Mother of boys - what it means

Shoes in the kitchen, jeans on the floor
Basketballs lying at the back door
Living room carpet shows signs of wear
The fridge and the cupboards are constantly bare.

The toilet seat's up, it's stuck that way
The sports on TV blare all day
Racetracks, footballs, all kinds of toys
How did you guess, I'm the mother of boys. - Author Unknown

I laid awake last night in bed, unable to sleep. That moment when you learn the sex of your child changes your life in an instant. The broad strokes of your future unfold before you and you begin, in a natural way I think, to imagine how your relationship with this little person and his relationship with others in your family will evolve.

I am the mother of boys, and that means certain things. On the not-so-bright side, it means I will be their favorite for a while, and then Dave will be their favorite for probably longer, and while perhaps it's that way with girls too, my boys will go on in life to identify more with their dad. It means I have lots of sports in my future, but no ballet classes. I will, I hope, see them become parents one day, but I won't be able to experience motherhood again with them, through them. On the very bright side, it means I have less hair to comb, serious hand-me-down clothes to pass around, and an intense amount of love to look forward to for a long time since Nick, at least, is the truest kind of mama's boy. It means I get to be mother-of-the groom once or twice, I hope, and maybe it means that I will see myself in future granddaughters I might have. What it doesn't mean, I have begun to tell myself, is that I'll for sure be lonely when I'm older. A woman at the park the other day told me she hopes I'm having a girl because "boys are in your life until they find a wife." I think if I do my job well, my boys will want to be in my life even then. I hope to love them so much and so well that they miss me even when another woman comes to "take my place."

These are my thoughts today as I sit with the final picture of what my family will look like. This beautiful boy I'm carrying is my last child, and I know he has come as a blessing in so many ways. I want to sit back now and enjoy the ride of carrying him (and make sure I have plenty of blue-themed scrapbook supplies for these remaining months!).