anytime my husband or my sitter have the kids, i stand in line at Starbucks and no one says anything to me. but when i have my boys... whether at Starbucks, the grocery store, or any other public location... people warm up. smile at the cuties. ask questions. start conversations. i love that about having kids, we moms can all relate on some level because we just know we are the toughest people out there.
but what i could do without are the comments of shock, amusement, and downright concern when they look inside the carseat to see .... GASP ... i have three boys?!?! oh my, how did that happen?
first, i don't get why three boys should elicit responses of shock and disbelief from total strangers. it's not like three boys is that odd. but from the looks on their faces, you'd have thought i birthed a unicorn, a fairy, and a two-headed monster.
what is more i don't usually get comments of general observation, "oh wow, three boys! you have your hands full!" i bet every mom gets these. instead i get these comments ridden with the suggestion that i'm unhappy with boys or wish i had a girl.
"three boys, how did that happen?" "awwww, you just never get to buy anything pink, do you?" today in Costco, i got: "three boys? i'll pray for you!" then there's one i get just about every time i go in public.... "so are you gonna try for a girl?" what does that even mean to "try for a girl"? if you know of some maneuver to pull during the baby making process that will predict gender, my friend, you should get that move patented. you are sitting on a gold mine. and besides, who says i even WANTED a girl?*
*i totally wanted a girl.
but what really kills me about these comments is the thought that one day my boys will be old enough to notice them. and for the first time, the thought could cross their little minds ... "what if i'm not what mom wanted? what if mom wishes she had had a girl instead of me?" my sweet boys are all i could ever want. and more. and i hate that random well-meaning comments could make one of them might think that i'd have wanted anything other than them. just as they are.
sure, i was disappointed when i thought i saw little boy parts on my third ultrasound as visions of prom and wedding dress shopping fled my mind. but i cried, got over it, and have never looked back. i am so excited each of my boys and what they will mean to one another. i can't imagine life without my sister and they are each doubly blessed. two boys are brothers. three boys are a camaraderie.
and of course... i will always have my three boys to thank when chris notices too many Nordstrom charges on the credit card statement and i can flippantly say, "don't worry, honey. we'll never have to pay for a wedding."
