Growing up I dreamed of the little girl I would have one day. We would go shopping, do crafts, get our hair done, make-up, barbies, and all the other joys that I loved doing.
Flash forward to today. I have a little boy. Even though he does love to go shopping (mostly just for food) there is no hair, barbie, make-up, or much crafting unless we are making tractors. I suppose not liking barbies and make-up is a good thing, but I still sigh and imagine what life would be like with a girl.
A good friend told me to give up on that fantasy. Girls are hair and drama. Looking back I would have to agree. Shopping with mom was a nightmare. She would go out of her way to buy "practical" ( cheap) clothing. My sister would pitch fits and throw massive temper tantrums in the stores. I would walk away and mutter something about being glad I was adopted because a "real" mom would buy her child designer clothing. Then there was the sisterly times that Kari and I would get into bar brawls that made Jerry Springer's guests look like Barney cast members. Over bathroom time, boys, clothes, phone time, just about anything. We finally got along once I moved away to college. Now we enjoy each other and get along. She adores Marvin and I adore my perfect nephew and niece.
The truth is that I may just end up with a house full of boys. Don't get me wrong, I would love a girl. My mom would love a girl. My mother-in-law would love a girl. Just about everyone I meet asks me if the next one will be a girl. But there are a few problems with that.
The sad truth is that mostly boys are available for adoption. For every one girl there is about seven or so boys. They say that boys are harder and everyone wants a girl. Because they are so much easier supposedly. That also is a mistruth. Girls can be much harder with their behaviors.
Plus, I have gotten used to being the queen bee around here. True the burping and scratching can get a little gross, but I have learned to deal with it. I find myself enjoying things I never thought I would like. Such as tractors. Marvin discovered them a while ago and is obsessed with John Deere. He has them everywhere. We have clothes, toy tractors, tractor movies (yes they make them) and tractor books. In a few weeks we will make a pilgrimage to the John Deere mecca. Molene, Illinois. We plan on going to the tractor museum, factories, whatever else we can find. We are also making a side trip to a zoo, but I am sure that Marvin won't be very impressed with that.
Shannon and I decided to take the trip now while Marvin is still obsessed with tractors. We also though it would probably be the last trip he took as an only child so we wanted to make it special for him. As the time approaches I am even getting excited about it. Not so much the tractor part as the time we will spend as a family. The look in his eyes. Especially the look in his eyes.
We haven't told Marvin yet as he would drive us crazy until we left. I am about busting. I am a lousy at keeping such a good surprise. So far he hasn't caught on.
When we get there I plan on taking oodles of pictures. I may even pick up a little pink John Deere shirt and put it aside for now. Maybe someday I will have a little someone to wear it. Even if I don't it would make a cute gift. I still can hold on to a dream until a better reality finds me.
Amy
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