Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Boys Will Be Boys, I guess!

Matthew and his friend were outside playing punt-catch when I heard the scream and saw Matthew running to the door. When he came inside he was crying and I did my best to comfort him and find out what was wrong.
Through a series of winces and gasps for breath I got the story. Matthew had been standing on the picnic table punting the ball. Only the last time - he was a little too close to the edge. He punted and fell right off the table, hitting his back on the way down.
His back was hurting. He was having trouble breathing. He was sweaty and itchy. In general, he was not a happy boy.
I sat him down, rubbed his head, got him a cold cloth and a drink of water. And he seemed to be feeling a little better.
At this point his friend came inside to check on Matthew and we took a look at his back. Wow. He had a pretty big scrape where his back had connected with the picnic table, so Matthew and I went into the bathroom to look for a bandage.
Once in the bathroom - where he was in front of a big mirror - Matthew saw the rather large scrape on his arm, too. And he turned himself around to look at the mark on his back. Let me tell you, Matthew was quite impressed with his wounds. So much so that he didn't care that I couldn't find a band aid.
He went back out to the other room to show off the mark on his arm to his friend. And I stood and watched the two of them admire the scrapes. Matthew's friend said, "Let me see your back again!" And Matthew willingly lifted his shirt.
With that, Matthew's friend said, "Wow. That must have really hurt."
"Yeah, for about a second."
I smiled, remembering the scene when Matthew first came in the house.
And he adjusted his story, "Well, maybe for about a minute."
And the boys agreed the scrapes were cool.

So there I stood - listening to two nine-year-olds talking with admiration about falls and scrapes and blood, remembering just moments before when one of those boys ran into my arms like he did when he was two, marveling at how quickly the pain had been forgotten, finding only one reasonable explanation for the whole scene: Boys will be boys.
Yep. I think that's it.

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9 comments:

Leah Adams said...

Cute story. So glad he wasn't hurt badly. We all need our moms when life hurts, don't we?

Leah

Jessica Nelson said...

Hahaaaa! I can see that whole thing. Too cute. :-)

km said...

6 should be feeling cool about his wounds, but he hides them. He wore the hood from his sweatshirt the entire time we were at church to cover the staples. And when he broke his arm, he wore long sleeves pulled down over the cast anytime we left the house. I'll have to remind him how cool it is.

LisaShaw said...

I'm so glad that he is ok!

I grew up with 3 brothers so I know that boys will be boys indeed especially with sharing their "war and wound" stories after being upset.

Have a blessed weekend.

P.S. Karen, I know a young Mom who is experiencing screaming fits and tantrums (publicly) from her 2 yr old. It's apparently so bad that someone at Walmart asked them to leave. I don't know all the details but I do know the parents are disciplinarians and very loving but the little one seems out of control. She doesn't blog but she reached out to me. I was wondering if your books cover any of that. I've been so far removed not having little ones for a very long time and my two kids never went through that degree of things so if you have any tips let me know. Thanks.

God bless.

KelliGirl said...

Boys are incredibly resilient aren't they? Having an 11 yo son, I have witnessed similar scenes. Yep, scars and scrapes are cool, although I often have to question the thought process that leads to these accidents. (Like my friend's teen son who was jumping on his trampoline with his skateboard...and ended up in the ER because the skateboard fell on his head!)

luvmy4sons said...

Too funny! Wish I could tell ya that will change but mine were just comparing scars the other day! LOL!

Larie Carlice Proverbs 27:19 said...

So do you think he'll show it off at school this week? Lol

smooches,
Larie

Heaven said...

As I was reading your post today, I had to smile as I thought of the often "battle wounds" that my own boys' seem to acquire.

But I also had to smile at the analogy God placed in my heart as I read. We all have our own battle wounds in life. At the time, it hurts horribly, but once God comforts us and helps us get through it, it is then that we can see the impact it leaves on us. As our own wounds heal, leaving 'un-hurting' scars behind, we can look at them, and remember just how far we've come and what we have conquered through Jesus Christ.

Ronel said...

Yes they will... I can see this happening in my own house... oh no...what the future holds for me..