It was a weekend like any other. The weather was mild, and the kids were happily playing outside. They had just received permission from their daddy to ride bikes up and down the sidewalk out in front of the house. This is something we do a lot around here, but I always sit on the porch or weed the front yard flowerbeds while they ride.
Adrain casually responded
"Oh they'll be just fine," when I asked if he was going to hang out on the front porch while they rode.
I was forced to stand at the front window because letting them "be just fine" is something I'm apparently
not capable of doing. And that got me thinking about the differences between moms and dads. There are quite a few in case you weren't clear on that. (Besides the fact that my children's daddy has biceps that positively melt me into a puddle of useless mush, whereas, I have no biceps at all by comparison.)
Ahem.
We were recently picking apples with my parents.
Adrain and
JJ were way off down the lane, and I could see
JJ climbing way high up into a tree.
Adrain stood below, watching him in a relaxed attitude. I was nearest to my dad, and I remarked,
"Oh I hope JJ is okay up there... I hope he doesn't fall!" My dad looked up for a second and said,
"Eh- he'll be fine, if he does
fall, he'll know not to do it again." Then he went right back to what he'd been doing.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the apparent lack of concern, and began edging toward my husband who was out of earshot. Certainly
he would have something a little more protective to say when he quickly saw things my way. (snicker) When I finally got to him, I said
"Honey, should JJ be up so high? What if he falls?" My husband gave me
the look. You know, the adorable one that says, "You are a
girl. You
clearly don't get it, and I can't help you." And then because of the horror spasming across my face at all of this manly disconnect from would-be danger, he was careful to reassure me.
"Oh babe, he'll be fine. If he does fall, he'll just know not to do it again."
Are you kidding me? Do they teach men this word-for-word response in Manhood 101? They were nowhere near each other, and both my father and my husband responded the
exact same way! I laughed hysterically because I couldn't help myself. (for the record, my mama was just as worried as I was) And you know what?
JJ didn't actually fall. Amazing.
So I decided that it's a good thing mommies and daddies are different. Because then kids get one parent who lets them climb, and one who patches them up when they fall. Sorta. You know what I mean...