Differences Between Boys and Girls

My column was published in The Bugle last week. Our ad is printed right below it and we've received calls already! It looks great. I'm just so thankful that we have a fabulous graphic designer and that I'm able to work with a publisher as nice and patient as Nancy Knight.

Here it is:

My husband and I have five boys and two girls—in that order. Needless to say, we were shocked and afraid when we found that our sixth would be the first girl. I was afraid because I could raise a boy with my eyes closed. The activity and predictability in behavior was comforting to me.

Although they are all different, boys have some universal mannerism. They love guns. They enjoy playing outside with rocks, sticks, and mud. They bounce off the walls after dinner. The headlock is a favorite maneuver to perform on a brother. No animal is too gross to pick up—and kiss! Jokes about farts and poop will always result in raucous laughter, especially at the dinner table. Anything pink is forbidden.

Then our daughter came along. Now that she’s four, she loves weapons. She is fond of rocks, sticks, and mud. She isn’t afraid on any animal. And she’s the one starting the jokes that have to do with bodily functions.

But she does it all in a ballerina dress and shimmering shoes. Pink reigns the supreme color in our house. Her most favorite activity is playing tea party. She corrals the boys to join her. They usually don’t mind if I bribe them with real tea and some snacks. She loves to play with dolls, as did her brothers before her. But she doesn’t rip off their heads and bang the bodies together in mock war.

It’s not just all about hair bands and shoes for her. She’s also very caring and loving—when she’s not screaming at her brothers like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist”. She’ll remember when someone had an ache or pain and ask how they’re feeling. Although caring in their own ways, the boys seem oblivious to any need besides their own.

She mothers them all, even when they don’t want more than one. It doesn’t help that my oldest son has nicknamed her “Princess”. She believes that she really is one. Teaching her manners has been much harder than it was the boys. She likes to bark orders at people and expect that they will instantly perform for her. We all just look at her and wait until her feelings are hurt from the stares. She’s a girl. It doesn’t take much to send her a message.

She lets us know how she feels by expressing herself verbally, even if no one is listening. She will talk to herself about an upsetting situation until she feels better. In the morning, we all know where to find her when we roll out of bed—because she likes to sing while she’s sitting on the potty.

Yes, having girls has made our lives very joyful and entertaining—and our boys complete our contentment in ways too numerous to count.