little boy in a wheel barrel full of dirt and mud

20 Things I Learned From Raising Boys

1. Pee-Proof Everything

Pee-proof everything in the bathroom. The shower walls, the bathtub, the floor, cabinets, shower curtains, everything, except, obviously the toilet. Because they won’t pee there.

2. Look The Other Way

No, I’m serious. They will do ridiculously stupid stuff. All. The. Time. Just take a deep breath, turn around, and walk away.

3. Prepare To Hear About ‘It’

You will see ‘it’ all the time. They will touch ‘it’ all the time. They may even tell you how big ‘it’ is, and have pee sword fights.

Again. Deep breath, turn around and walk away.

4. ‘Chest Things’

They will loudly ask you why your ‘chest things’ are bigger than theirs in public. More than once. Mentally prepare yourself to answer this. In Public.

5. Expect An ER Trip

You will probably visit the ER at least once before they start school. Boys play hard. And once again, they do stupid stuff.

6. Motherly Concern

You will be concerned about their leadership skills, and giving into peer pressure. You will be concerned about who their friends are, their work ethic, and what sort of things they learn when they are away from home.

7. Close Your Eyes Before Your Roll Them

Learn to close your eyes before you roll them. Because I guarantee you, 1748 people will tell you ‘boys are easier than girls.’ Just smile and bite your tongue.

8. Boys Have Emotions

I don’t care what people say. Boys have emotions. And they can be sensitive.

I worked in a junior high for a couple of years. Saw 8 boys cry. Care to guess how many girls I saw cry? Yup. 0.

Boys carry heavy loads, and sometimes they break down. And it is absolutely okay if they show they care.

9. Contact Sports

Everything can be made into a contact sport. Everything.

10. Pain

Nothing will prepare you for how bad it hurts you to see them hurt. When their hearts break, yours will break too.

11. Have Plenty Of Energy

Active is their middle name. There is no downtime. Their energy source can not be depleted.

12. Bathroom Humor

Bathroom humor is their favorite. Get used to hearing about poop, farts, and anything bathroom-related. ‘Poop’ was my fourth son’s first word, naturally.

13. Love Their Friends

You will learn that one of the best things you can do for your boys is to love their friends, pray for their friends, and to get to know their friends.

14. Feed Them!

They will eat, eat, and eat some more. After school, expect them to want an afternoon snack, a pre-supper sandwich, supper, and also a bedtime bowl of cereal.

15. They’ll Ruin Their Clothes

They will ruin their clothes. Those new tennis shoes will be lucky to last 3 months and the jeans may last a week. Holy jeans and worn-out shoes, are totally okay!

16. Pray For Respect

You will pray every day that they are learning to respect. To respect women, men, adults, children, animals, and property.

17. Go On Dates

Going on dates with your boys will become one of your favorite things to do.

18. The Impact Of Love

The thought of one day letting him go, and watching him begin to love another person is a hard one to grasp. But you will realize that these moments, this love that you are pouring into him right now will impact who he becomes when all of this is his turn.

19. Hold All The Love

Before these boys of yours, you never knew how much love your heart could hold. How those little smiles could take your breath away, how hearing ‘I love you’ from a 10-year-old could make your heart feel like it will explode.

20. Be Grateful

You will be forever grateful that God gave these boys to you. That He chose you to be their momma. And you will question why you got to be so lucky to have been given these boys, all the while feeling so so thankful. You will spend a lot of time in prayer that you are able to live up to this, sometimes overwhelming, a blessing of a responsibility.

Raising boys is not for the faint of heart, and it may be a wild ride, but it is so, so worth it.

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Ashley of My House Full of Boys. You can follow her journey on Facebook. Join the Love What Matters family and subscribe to our newsletter.