I am the mother of three boys and I can’t imagine it any other way. I may be the only female in the house but I don’t feel like the odd one out.
When I was pregnant for the third (and last) time I had a sneaking suspicion I was carrying a baby that would complete my trio of young males to mother. The twenty-week scan confirmed my hunch.
Was I secretly hoping for a girl? I’ll level with you, I thought it would be nice to have a girl to add to the pair of boys I already had. But when the sonographer said, “It’s clearly a boy,” I wasn’t disappointed. It wasn’t a surprise. I was perfectly okay with another boy.
Turns out many others had an opinion about having a third boy.
“Oh, I guess another little boy is also okay,” uttered acquaintances and passers-by who stopped me on the street, curious about the contents of my belly. It was said as if there was an underlying possibility that it actually wasn’t okay.
And then we had the question that I think every parent of same gender children have faced:
“Will you try for a fourth? For a girl?”
“Er no. We’re okay, but thanks for delving into our personal lives.”
I know some mothers find it hard to come to terms with an all-male brood, but I’m not one of them.
I never really was a girly girl. At least certainly not by the time I reached my teenage years. My best friends from age fifteen onwards were generally male. I preferred the straight talking and honest company. The boys didn’t bitch behind each other’s back.
I have one brother. No sisters.
I’m comfortable in the company of males.
As a result, the leap to being the mother of three males wasn’t such a big one. So far, their interests have not challenged me to step outside my comfort zone: chugging Thomas the Tank engine along wooden rails, re-enacting a massive highway pileup with brightly colored toy cars, kicking a ball around, painting their nails if they ask as I paint my own, exploring in the woods, and clearing up glitter from the kitchen floor.
Don’t get me wrong, being the mother to three boys isn’t always easy; it doesn’t always come naturally. Like the obsession with penises and bodily functions. I have struggled answering questions on many a topic outside my remit.
I know too that the teenage years will hit before I’m ready. Testosterone everywhere. I’m guessing moody, pimply, hormonal males in the house may not be the most fun you can have as a mother…… but my own mother has testified to the fact that a teenage girl is no more an inviting prospect than the one I face.
In short, boys are wonderful. I will make sure my three know that.
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