This week my son had a little tiff with one of his classmates who happens to be a girl. They’ve been like cousins since preschool and usually get along swimmingly. By the way, she’s drop dead gorgeous. So what’s all the fuss?
“Mom, she says things that aren’t true about Pokémon,” said my son. “And she stuck her tongue out at me four times yesterday!”
“Honey, you’re still friends, and no one knows everything about Pokémon,” I said. “Girls are funny about things. Sometimes they’re moody for no reason.”
The moment those words left my lips, I felt like the cat who swallowed the parakeet. The employee who sold the company secrets for a song. Just call me B for Benedict Arnold.
One of my professor friends shared how she boldly espoused the feminist mantra when she taught women’s studies: there are no natural differences between boys and girls. Whatever differences appear are caused by nurture. By a society oppressive to women.
Then she had kids. A boy and a girl. And she’s softened her stance a bit.
I don’t blame her. She had to. It was either dial it down to preserve the integrity of her real life experience, or risk cracking up in front of her students while trying to tow the hard line with a straight face.
There are inherent differences between boys and girls—between men and women—that go beyond anatomy. Not every generalization applies to every person, but there are differences.
Once while visiting the nail salon, I glanced up to see the unbelievable. A mom having a manicure while holding a baby! Oh, it’s a girl.
Another time, three of us MOBs took our then preschool sons to lunch after soccer lessons. Our table was a raucous, rumbling good time. Were we disturbing other customers? Not our neighboring table. There sat three angelic little girls about the same age as our guys quietly drawing on activity pages with crayons.
And what may be the cruelest difference of all, the 75/25 rule. We MOBs learn quickly: 75 percent of the items in children’s clothing stores will be for girls and 25 percent will be for boys.
Only about half of those items you’d want your son to actually wear. If you see something you like, better buy it or the next MOB will snap it up faster than you can say Bakugan.
I don’t have anything against girls. I am a girl and I love being one. I love my nieces, my friends’ daughters, and my son’s friends who are girls. I hope my son marries a wonderful girl if that’s what God has for him.
But I’m one proud MOB too. I love my little boy through and through. And I wouldn’t trade him for all 849 trillion pink bows in the world.
So God created human beings in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 NLT
My momma loves me. She Loves Me Like a Rock, by Paul Simon.
Nicole Diehl is a MOB times three. She’s also a veteran blogger at Here’s the Diehl, and recently she opened an Etsy shop by the same name.
What does she design and sell? Among other things, headbands for little girls of course. They’re the cutest things eva! Go to Here’s the Diehl on Etsy and see for yourself.
PS: Nicole donates 10 percent of her shop’s proceeds to Compassion International’s Child Survival Program.
Hi Aimee! Just catching up on some of your blogs. This one is so true. Back in the preschool days I would have friends invite me to lunch at nice restaurants like Lucky 32 and suggest I bring a coloring book and box of crayons. HA! They had girls! If we are going to have to wait, well, we were going to eat somewhere else. Now I’ve entered the stage where my 12 year old and almost 10 year old can stay home alone for short amounts of time. So far, the house is still standing! YEAH! Love your writing. Keep it up.
Thank you so much, Wendy. Miss you and wish we were meeting at Lucky’s, boys in tow, for dinner tomorrow! We’ll do it next time we’re in town. There’s strength (and understanding) in the MOB :)
I can attest to the boys vs girls–having 4yo triplets can be challenging in itself, but with 2 boys and one girl, it is a bit active at our house…our 2 boys are never still, while the girl is sweet and quiet (at least most of the time)…I will probably be so glad only one is a girl when they hit the teen years!
Hi, Amy. So glad to get the mom-of-multiples perspective. What better laboratory to observe the differences, huh? Your kids are such cuties, it’s not a bad gig! Hope you all are well. Thanks for reading and commenting. And I think (hope) you’re right about the teen years!
Aimee, I so appreciate your blog you sent today! My closest friends have girls and I am constantly comparing my wild boy to their calm, obedient children. it is exhausting, but to hear your stories is refreshing to think that maybe I’m not too bad a mom but just have a active boy! Thanks for your encouragement! keep the stories coming!
Thanks, Susan. You’re absolutely not a bad mom! You’re a great mom of a precocious, energetic, adorable little boy. These tornadoes of ours keep us young!
Hey A : ) Only those with boys can ever understand! We had the only boy in a sea of nieces and friends’ girls for a very long time. Finally a friend had a boy (8 years after her girl!), she called me and said she got it! Then when God decided to give me a 2nd boy- well, I knew then He has an amazing sense of humor. But now that they are older and we see their girl friends, we are happy to live with the destruction. Beats the drama any day! With boys, you definitely pay up front. With girls, you just keep paying, and paying, and…
Hi, Dana. I was wondering if anyone was going to bring that up about how MOBs pay up front. And I agree, it’s hard to explain to those who aren’t MOBs. Of course we could loan ours out to them for an afternoon and they would have a pretty good idea! Thanks for reading and commenting.
HA! Love it Aimee! Thanks for sharing. It’s too true. I’m baby sitting an 11-month old and my 8-year-old niece has been staying with us for 2 weeks. There are differences genetically encoded, I’m convinced…and tickled. It’s too funny to see them even in the little one.
Isn’t it funny? It’s a pleasure to be a MOB and to have loved ones who are little girls too. The best of both worlds!
Love it Aimee! Being a MOB for 29.1 years, I’ve realized that God gave me three of them for a reason. One will pick a decent nursing home for me, Two is a reflection of my stubborn self (my mom is still snickering), and Three is just plain entertaining.
All these blessings wrapped in legos, mud, and superhero capes.
Lisa, you’ve been triply blessed. I love their different job descriptions. They may have to give my only some coaching on the nursing home choices…
Lisa, I LOVED your description of your boys. And seriously, you could not have better-described my 3! When Two is irking me (he’s 6), if I’m not too caught up in the frustration of the moment, I can totally see myself. Ugh. Our One is Mr. Responsible, and Three is the to-be Class Clown. Love it!
I didn’t know there was a MOB Club, but I want in. haha :) I’ve got 2 boys and I just love them. I can totally relate to the lunch out with the boy table vs the girl table.
ps-As a mom, you may appreciate this link to the Mom’s Guide to Caring for Little Teeth (http://www.1dental.com/moms-guide/). It’s got practical tips, including what to do if your tooth gets cracked or chipped – something I’m afraid might be common with boys, but I have yet to experience – thank God :)
Joy, the moment you assume motherhood of a boy, you’re automatically a member! Welcome to the club, fellow MOB. And thanks for the link to the dental tips. My little man is finally losing some baby teeth, without a trip to the emergency room I might add. Although we’ve had our share of visits to the ER as well! That may be a future post, lol. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I did love your writing today! If you dont think there is a difference, let me have you keep my 2 boys on Monday and Cyndi’s 2 on Tuesday. I had them a couple of days this summer. It was so relaxing and calm. They did giggle a lot (while we painted nails) and tell me that they were not friends with some girls anymore bc they were “bad”, but that is all they did that was taxing. The Cici’s people did not even groan when we walked through the door.
Alicia, did I tell you yet today that you are the bomb?! Thanks for the comment. That is so funny and so true. Pros and cons to boys and girls. Love them both and you too!
You should create your own clothing store for boys and call it MOB.
Now that is a great idea. Hmm… Thanks, Posky!
Thanks so much for the link, Aimee!
Being a MOB is the best. Even if I have to constantly endure the “you have your hands full” comments. And having nieces to put girly headbands on is pretty great, too :)
I wholeheartedly agree, Nicole. And I’m so proud of you for your Etsy store. You are one rockin’ MOB!