Boy, Boy, Boy, Boy……Girl!

So…. this afternoon I heard Grace in the living room crying while working in my bedroom. I walked out thinking “This smells of BOY”. You see we live next to two boys that Jackson and Grace play with EVERY afternoon. Football in the street, basketball in the driveway, Nerf wars, fights with the hoses…the list goes on and on. And I have to say Grace hangs well with the boys, a formidable player and would be defined as a tomboy in as much as her play and dress. We struggle over looking more like a girl , after 4 boys do you blame me? I know, I know I was a tomboy too, I just thought pigtails and bows would be fun after years of baseball caps and whiskers!

Someone has to do it! Go GRACE GO!!!

Well, today Jackson wanted to have a friend over, so I said yes. That is where the trouble begins…He is a wonderful boy, actually all the boys are great boys. But they are 4 and Grace is ONE.

We had snacks, they played in the driveway while I worked…all seemed well until I heard the whimpers. To her credit she did not come in and tell on the opposite sex, no I just heard a few sobs and went to see what was the source of the water works. When I said, “Honey. what’s wrong?” She burst into tears, then ran into her room saying they told her that they needed time for “BOY” talk and walked away. As she was saying this she started to change her clothes and declared loudly ” I am not going to be a TOMBOY anymore!! I am going to dress like a girl!”

Oh my…rock and a hard place. As much as I would LOVE to have her dress a bit more like a girl, I don’t want her to change because she feels she doesn’t fit in. As she working on the transformation, putting a bow in her hair and a skirt on, I gently said, ” Sweetheart maybe they needed just a little time to discuss boy stuff, like you need with your girlfriends, so let’s give them 10 minutes, which in BOY talk is eternity and then see if they want you back.”

I asked her to stay while I went to check on them…..

“BOYS!!!!” (I roared in my best mama bear voice, after all I am a girl too) They came running. I had the whole team of “opposite sex” sit on the curb for a “PEP” talk. “Boys….How would you like it if you were the only boy surrounded by 4 girls ALL the time? That would suck wouldn’t it? (I was speaking in boy you see) You know that all of you fight to have her on your team because she is good and always has a great attitude, which is more that I can say for a few of you curb sitters! (low nods) Now, I understand the need for boy talk but “we” are never going exclude her like that again are we or we won’t be shipping other boys in. Understand?”

“Yes mam.”

“Okay, Play!”

I went into Grace’s room and said, “They are ready for you to go kick their butts! But Grace I have always found, being a tomboy myself, that it is more fun to kick their butts with a bow in my hair.”

She ran out the door with a big grin, her trademark laugh and bow ….

Go Grace GO!