4tunate

We have four more runners in our house.  After and during Brad’s mini-marathon training, they’ve been running their hearts out: 3 runs around the block on Sunday, laps around the outside of the house, sprints from one end of the house to another.  {If you can’t tell, they look up to their daddy intensely!}

We discovered that part of the 500 Festival in Indianapolis during the month of May includes a non-competitive Rookie Run for kids ages 3-12. It took no convincing to sign these band of brothers up for their first race!

Of course, their superhero capes gave them an unfair advantage in speed and strength. {It’s all superhero all the time at our house!}

Carbin’ Up before the race…

We had time after picking up our registration packets to enjoy the Kid’s Festival and check out lots of the activities and displays. We also had the privilege of running into former congressman Mike Pence, who is running for governor of our state.  {He asked us for a picture to post on his Facebook page. }

At 1:40 the 5 year olds race began, thankfully our boys were in the second heat, because they were ready to run!

On your marks… Get set…..

RUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

What a great way to spend Mother’s Day weekend  with my boys.  At one point after the race, I looked at Brad and said, “Brad, we have quadruplets, and they all are able to run in a race!” {It’s nothing short of miraculous.}

They’ve accomplished so much in their 5 years of life, and I’m so thankful to be their Mama.

And the race continues…

I’ll never forget laying on the examining table as an ultrasound revealed that I was carrying four BOYS.  It seemed foreign, surreal, and overwhelming to process. I never imagined what a houseful of boys looked like. Hadn’t the rarity and shock of being pregnant with four at the same time been enough to wrap my head around?

Fast forward five years, as cliché and cheesy as it may sound, I wouldn’t have it any other way. These boys are living a life of brotherhood that makes grown men envious. They wake up to a day of uncharted adventures and go to sleep surrounded with their best buddies. I’m blessed everyday to be surrounded by their giggles, scheming, imaginations, and the unique ways they love me in return.

It may not always be pretty or clean or calm or what I expected, but it’s a life full of beauty. Everyday, I’m learning more about how they are wired, how they learn, and hopefully how they can thrive best.

Here are a few things being a boy mom has taught me thus far:

1. Boys need adventure. They need to be able to act out rescue missions, explore nature’s playground, get grass stained knees, and take some {supervised} risks. They learn so much through experience rather than just instruction.

2. Boys ruin stuff. Most of the time it’s completely unintentional.  They aren’t doing it to be destructive and unappreciative.  They are just the innately rougher gender. Although I want them to understand that things have value, I want them to grasp that their hearts are more important than just “stuff”.  Their attitudes and character should demand more of my attention than an unintentional spill on the the carpet or crayon on the wall.

3. Boys eat up your encouragement as much as the food in your pantry. There’s not much that lights them up more than a verbal assurance that they are brave, smart, handsome, kind, or responsible.

4. Boys’ fun is loud. This wasn’t an easy adjustment for me. I grew up with a 9 year gap between myself and my closest in age brother.  Therefore, a lot of my childhood functioned almost like an only child. I was accustomed to parents who didn’t raise their voice and I played contently in quiet.  Sometimes I have to take breaks from the constant rumble, but there’s beauty in the noise if you listen.

5. Boys need boundaries. Their hearts need instruction, direction, and an understanding of what is expected. Our house could be pure chaos and disorder if we allowed them to rule the roost.  And while that may sound “easier” or more fun, it’s not where they thrive best. Boundaries as stale as it sounds,  give way to less stress, less disappointment, and  less commotion. Things go so much smoother when we communicate what our boys should anticipate, and what we expect from them in certain situations. It also gives them freedom to be wild and rowdy when appropriate. It simplifies things – and that’s where we flourish.

How about YOU – what has parenting boys/girls taught you?

I can feel it slipping – these days of sunshine and simplicity.

Days of neglecting some of the to-do’s for the gifts in front of me…

Days of constant noise and chatter…

Days of make believe, laughter, togetherness, and play…

Days of childhood that can be cherished a little longer…

It’s fleeting at an unstoppable speed. 

So today there will be things that get neglected in order to soak more of THIS in.  There is a blanket in the sunshine that has our names on it this afternoon for reading.  We’ll sit outside for our meal so that clean-up is quicker.  Chaos will be responded to with calmness (at least that’s the goal). And we’ll pick easy over complicated.

Today we’ll choose to live seeing life not as an emergency, but as a gift.

And at the end of the day I doubt one of them will ask me why I didn’t get around to folding the last load of laundry, or emptying the dishwasher, or answering emails…

It may not be elaborate, but it’s a day we are going to embrace and live.