Majority Rules

I am still learning how to be a parent to a set of wild boys. Afterall, I grew up in a house where boys were the MAJOR minority since my dad was the lone male among 4 women. I am living in my father's dream world - a place where the kids like to be rough and tough. They think everything was created to jump from and they are sure that most anything can withstand a good karate kick. They live for the moments to get their hands in the dirt (honestly, I think their fingernails have dirt in them more often than not). With each passing month Harper and Collier are solidifying their roles as partners in crime but most of all they are teaching me that boys ARE truly different than girls in almost every aspect.

This weekend, after what seemed like hours of running around the house evoking havoc on anything and anyone in their site, Collier decided he wanted to cash in and head upstairs. Harper was not about to allow the fun to end and took matters into his own hands. While Collier was climbing the stairs, Harper grabbed one of his legs and started dragging him back downstairs. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of this criminal act and quickly put an end to it. I explained to Harper that he cannot do this to his little brother because it could hurt him and Collier was not yet as durable as him. I ended the lecture with "How would you like someone to pull you down the stairs by one leg?"

Obviously this was a stupid question for a mother to ask a three year old boy who thrives on his father taking his legs out with a pillow when he is jumping on the bed. As soon as I finished my really dumb question, his eyes got as big as quarters and he said "Really... that sounds fun. Will you pull me down the stairs with one leg?"

I resisted my initial thought of trying to teach a lesson of empathy and decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". I grabbed Harper's leg and pulled him down the stairs as laughter exploded between both of them. I realized that being a prude is not going to go over well with these two little guys. Something tells me that I will probably learn more lessons in the years ahead than the boys. After all, I am the MAJOR minority in this situation.