Snakes and Snails and Bouquets of Lilies

Miss Sassy Pants is prissy. There is no doubting this. She’s afraid of bugs and dirt and the snake we found on our walk home today. She’s seven, and it seems to come with the girly territory. I don’t remember her being like this as a baby, but she has always liked singing, dancing, dolls, and being “pretty.”

The Animal is almost a year old, and he’s already doing what I consider typical boy stuff. He plays in the dirt, rolls in the grass, chucks rocks across the driveway, and takes frightening nose dives down the backyard slide.

Every now and again, I wonder if I’m doing something to subconsciously cause the girl to act like a girl and the boy to act like a boy. 

When the Animal picked me a flower (really, he did — I’m absolutely certain that the reason he ripped the clover out of the ground was to give it to me and not to just rip it out of the ground) it made me wonder if I’m somehow inadvertently forgetting to teach my son to enjoy things that are less manly.

I have taught Miss Sassy Pants to hit a baseball and ride a bike. Surely, I need to also teach the Animal to enjoy flowers and sew on a button.

I know, I know. He’s only one, and I’m getting way ahead of myself. But, I seriously think this is something our culture forgets to consider. Toys and cartoons and even Valentine’s cards are so geared toward gender. Miss SP was worried about giving the boys at school Princess Valentine’s cards because they would hate them. Why do we do this to our kids?

So, I am pledging here — in Blog Land — to be certain my son knows how to do lots of stuff — even the things considered “girly” — so that he will not only appreciate the women in his life but eventually be a darn awesome husband like his daddy (who can sew, cook, and even do the laundry! Gasp!).

I leave you with a picture of his sweet little hand picking that flower for me. Yes. It was for me. Don’t burst my bubble.