Kids are Funny

My little Peanut told me that when he grows up he wants to get a motorcycle with a sidecar and then he will come and find me and drive me around. I asked him where he thought I would be that he would need to come find me. He did not know.

I did tell him that I was pretty sure that I would always give him my address.

Then he told me that I could always live with him.

But what if you find yourself a pretty girl who loves Jesus and you get married and don’t want to live with your mom?

BB chimes in, “Aunt Desert Bloom lives with your mom…”

True. But Aunt Desert Bloom does not want to continue to live with our Mom forever. She wants to sell her old house and buy a new house and live by herself with her dog and her cat.

I then proceeded to tease my boys further, as well as plant a seed for the future.

Peanut, I think you will grow up and marry Adelyn. She’s a pretty girl who loves Jesus.

“No! She stinks.”

BB, I think you will grow up and marry Abi. And PH, I think you will grow up and marry Hannah. And then you will give me lots of pretty little grand babies that I can spoil to the point that you will say, ‘Mom…stop spoiling my kids’ and I will then say, ‘But that is my job. I’m the grandma, I get to spoil the grand kids because I did not get to spoil you when I had to be MOM. It’s the circle of life.

They then proceeded to tell me the name of one of my friends that they think I should marry. To which I pointed out that would need to be HIS decision. This gave me the opportunity to mention a little bit about what I believe dating is meant to be. I told them that I believe it is to be the man or the boy who asks the girl out and tells of his intentions and not vice versa, even if the world is telling a different story. The Bible is full of stories about men approaching women they are interested in and then approaching her family in order to ask permission to date her.

This went a little bit above their heads but I knew I was just planting a seed.

Later, I shared the conversation with my daughter. She is more fertile soil at this point and was far more interested. And my point to her was different. I did tell her that I believe a boy who wishes to go out with her will be a nice boy who will treat her kindly and if he doesn’t, then he is not worth her time because she is precious and deserves to be treated as such.

I also shared again the illustration from my own life, one that she witnessed, in which I broke off an engagement with a man who started off being loving and kind but as time went on became more controlling and abusive both to myself but also to two of my boys.

“So, you kicked him to the curb.”

Yes, honey, I did. No woman deserves to be treated in a way that is less than respectful and if a man cannot love all of my children, then he cannot love all of me. We are a package.