Recently I noticed something odd in my upstairs bathroom. The toilet seat is up! And rightly so! For 16 years the lady portion of our family dominated the upstairs and so the seat was down. Now is the time for the Men! I am smiling. I am grateful. My husband and my boys, what a happy scene.
In the mornings I hear Thom say, "Good morning gentlemen". Off goes the sleepy-time music and on goes the Micky Mouse Clubhouse CD. For so many years it has been, "Good morning Ladies, rise and shine!" Now. . . robust laughing and silly sayings and loud noises of boys wrestling their Daddy as he fake falls to the ground. Pull-ups and diapers out in the pale and two little happy boys settle down on our laps for Bible study. I love watching Thommy love his boys and model Jesus right in front of their eyes.
Breakfast is next and as it is announced roars rise up from the play area. Kid's Cookie Break is playing in the background as we put their meals together and ours. We barely get through mealtime prayers before one of the boys dives into their food. And oh the plans Eliot has for his grand adventure. By this point, Peter is usually wanting something more and wriggling in his seat with every delicious mouthful. He gets so excited that he yells and reaches to hug Daddy and me. What bliss. So different from when Emily and Megan grew up.
Then down to serious playing. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we deliver a local paper as a family (not including Thommy). The girls head off on their parts of the routes but before they can go Eliot makes sure that they have maps, cell phones and a very long hug from him. Eliot runs each route and over a two day period that could add up to 15-20 miles worth of foot action. He throws papers for me and makes sure that I am OK. As each route ends, Peter greets his sisters with a warm wave and exuberant hopping up and down in his stroller seat.
And the movies we watch have nothing to do with Prince Charming. It's all action or fuzzy monsters, defeating evil or teaching numbers or shapes. And of course, role playing with swords or karate kicks. I just smile as I think back to the girls and how they would watch say Cinderella and then go upstairs to their play room and pretend the whole movie making up dialogue as the went along. Eliot and Peter get done watching a movie and get up the stairs to the back porch for some pretty physical play. And of course more music.
Bath time is very wet and bedtime is very purposeful. Each boy has favorite books, each has a way they must sit on Daddy's lap or mine, each has a special way of climbing into their beds and each has an interesting way of praying. Daddy wakes them up and puts them down most of the time and I get to listen in and smile. And as I think over the days activities I again realize that I have left the realm of raising little girls and have entered a new season. So when the lights are turned off and the door to the little boy's room is closed I slip down to my girls apartment and put on sanity as I listen to them share their days with me.
Peter, Eliot, Thommy and Me, the Four Amigos! New dreams and grand stories or heroic deeds are dreamed upstairs. And I am so glad to be the one sharing in it all. What wonderful creatures boys are!
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