The FUNtastic World of Boyz!!

As an expectant mother who had spent most of her life being a firm feminist, it was normal for me to crave for a girl child. “I would exchange the baby in the hospital if it`s a boy”, I announced. But God had planned otherwise and gave me not one but two boys. When my younger son, my last hope for a daughter, was born I was welcomed to a heartbroken boys` mothers group who were still grieving over the loss of their non-conceived daughters. The census lady formally recorded what many relatives and friends had teasingly noticed, the majority in our home was that of the other gender and I stood as a minority from now on.


The first sound of the baby, his cry for his mother, me, sent all the resentment flying out of the window and I decided to accept and adjust to what I was bestowed upon. Gradually, as I immersed myself into the daunting job of bringing up two boys(along with the third one, the father) I experienced a paradigm shift and the myths came crumbling down. Yes, boys were very restless, more physical and naughty. But I realized how much I enjoyed their world. I loved watching over them playing Ben 10 games for long hours, their karate fights were very thrilling and the races, exhilarating. I had never seen boys so closely since I only had a sister, and had never really been into sports, so their ways were new and challenges seemed tough at times. But, theirs was a simple world with lots of pure fun. Every small move, be it jumping or falling, throwing or catching, kicking or blocking, came with an extra adrenaline rush, an aggression that needed to be understood and aptly channelized. The ball was much more important than the people playing, winning more meaningful than the way one was addressed or handled.

Slowly, it was as gripping to watch my son play a cricket match or dribble the ball as perhaps an IPL match.

I agree that we`ll never get to see the other side of the world but I`m experiencing this one with complete attention and justice. I`ve discovered that boys also bring a lot of love, they hug, kiss and cuddle, they can sing and like to paint, they love to listen to long stories and can talk endlessly describing details of their daily experiences, just like we expect from girls. Even though I`m not left with much of feministic issues to stand up for in the house, I do understand that raising boys into sensitive, conscientious, compassionate and responsible men will be an essential and difficult task, especially cause they would be carrying atleast half the burden (if not more) of the planet in the future. Only a mother, a woman (after all I`m a feminist) would be truly able to bring it about with the warmth that it needs.

After all being the minority I`m often showered with the most special gifts, just like my son recently declared, “Mom you are my most favorite girl in the world!!”