Seeking the Kingdom, one day at a time.: A post about having sons

Boys are a lot of fun. I have to admit, though, I didn't really see myself having a house full of them :) For some reason, I always imagined my first baby would be a boy, and lucky for me, he is! I have always loved imagining the relationship of mother and child through the images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus. To me, that always conjured up feelings of the ideal motherhood. Of course, its not about gender, but that particular relationship always spoke deeply to me. This is in no way meant to under emphasize my girls, or my relationship with them. I LOVE my daughters and they will always hold a very special place in my heart (and I will hopefully be writing a post about having daughters later), but this post is all about the boys!

My oldest son is 11. I always hear people talk about how great it is to have a girl first and how much help they are. I am sure that is true, but all I can speak about is having a son first, and that has been a wonderful dynamic to our household. He is 5 years older than his batch of little brothers, so he is more of a leader to them than a playmate. That being said, though, he is great at playing with them too. I am not sure if it is just him, or most boys who are first born, but Dominic is a very gentle and sensitive boy. He has so much compassion and is genuinely helpful around the house with chores, and little siblings.

The little boys are a different experience for me than Dominic has been, probably because they are the youngest, and all in a row. In general, boys are louder, more rambunctious, and more physical than girls. I didn't see that as much with Dominic, but with my little guys, that is so true! And after having so many of them, I am now certain that God decided to make little boys extra cute, in order to make up for all of their shenanigans :) There are so many times that I see them piled on top of each other in a "friendly game" of wrestling. I will never understand them, but perhaps that is one reason why I am intrigued by them. Often, I feel like I am dressing up superheroes all. day. long; or boosting their little egos by telling them how "big and tough" they are.

It is one of the most adorable and perhaps the most precious thing to me when my little boys act like they are big stuff, but in practically that same moment, need the comfort and protection of their mama. My sons hold my heart in a way no one else could. I know that one day, they will be too big to fit in my arms, but for now, it is the most cherished time of my day, when those "big and tough" little boys snuggle up to me and only find their comfort in my arms, melting me with their sweet and loving eyes and flattering words. Or when Dominic, out of the concern of his heart, goes out in the snow just to scrape the ice off my car when we have to go somewhere, or offers to carry my bags, or in many other ways treats me with such respect. I am so proud of him sometimes, that I think my heart might explode. To see him, now 11 years old, still so young, but growing more and more into a man, is truly a blessing and privilege.

For now, I am the one to whom my boys say "you look beautiful", and bring flowers to. They bring me so much joy and so much tenderness; I really had no idea how much of that would be found in the world of sons.

There is something very different and unique in the bond of mother and son. As a mother, I must continue everyday to allow them to grow, to remember not to hold on too tight, but at the same time, to continue to hold them daily, because while they need to have the room to grow, they also need that motherly tenderness in order to grow into the men they will one day become. Raising boys in today's world can be hard when there is so much confusion about what it means to really be a man. I am honored to be the mother of my 5 sons. And I am humbled that I, along with my husband, am called to guide these boys into adult hood, teaching them how to be men the way God intended men to be; like Christ, laying their lives down for others.