MOMINTERRUPTED Raising boys vs. girls: Shark Week or lattes?
Ahwatukee Foothills resident Elizabeth Evans can be reached at elizabethann40@ hotmail.com. Her column appears monthly.
One of the most persistent and hot parenting debates is this: Are boys or girls easier to raise? In fact, if you want to start a forest fire, just take a proponent from either side and drop them in the middle of the Tonto National Forest. It’s better than a blowtorch. When you have managed to produce two girls and two boys, you get a lot of time to wonder about how they’re different, how they’re alike, and what in the world happened to all your silverware. So far, I know this: Having daughters means reminding them that I won’t buy them any clothes that they can’t wear to church. Having boys means you wind up saying things like “Yes, you have to wear underpants.” Having daughters means painting a bedroom pink. Having boys means that, if you despair that your dining room table will not survive another tank war, you’re advised by well-meaning mothers of boys to “store your girlie things in your bedroom.” For me, it’s worked out that having daughters means that I know I will get a phone call from them soon, asking if it’s all right with me if they take their little brothers to the store to buy their school supplies. (You’re kidding, right? Is this some kind of joke? Of course it’s all right!) Having sons has meant that they can’t find their new, expensive calculator, purchased in that very same trip, two days later when school starts. Having daughters means that, when they’re done buying the school supplies, they bring me a latte. Having sons means that they’ll forget to give me back my credit card and then head off to a week-long Scout camp in another state. Having daughters means that they are constantly reviewing the choices at the local Swedish retailer to accessorize their bedroom. Having sons means that there is at least one person in the house who knows how to put Swedish furniture together. And looks forward to doing it. Having daughters means someone will teach me how to use my new makeup. Having sons means that it’s pretty much a certainty that the dog will be wearing Fairly Light Mineral Veil when I come home from work. Having daughters means that they are interested in how relationships work, and in understanding their emotions. Having sons means there’s still someone not too cool to hold my hand at the grocery store. Having daughters means finding a dozen peach roses on my pillow on Mother’s Day, complete with an invitation to breakfast. Having sons means that, when I get home, I’ll be greeted with a set of Star Trek DVDs. Having daughters means that no one will watch Monday Night Football with me. In my house, having sons means that no one will watch Monday Night Football with me, but someone will record Shark Week. Having daughters means being able to talk about boys and their dates. Having sons means there’s someone to play UNO with on Saturday nights. I highly recommend that, if you don’t have a daughter or two standing around the house, you should get one. Of course, if you don’t have a son, I think you should get yourself at least one of those, too. Boys versus girls? Yeah, we have a winner: me.
