Wednesday, July 23, 2014

ABC WEDNESDAY -- JULY 23

(CREATIVE TUESDAY FOLLOWERS, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ONE PAGE)

B is for...
MY BOYS
I promise I won't make these posts just a litany of relatives.  But I did say I would use ideas of things that mean a lot to me and I couldn't pass the letter "B" without reference to my sons, commonly referred to as "the boys".

Never did I ever dream that I would end up being the mother of two boys (now in their 40's).  First
of all I didn't think I would ever get married -- it was too risky, I figured.  Then I had decided in my teens I didn't want children -- not sure why.  Probably thought that was too risky also.  All part of my defenses I think, to not do anything I couldn't succeed at.  Not sure where that came from either.

Well my husband changed all that and now here I am, married for almost 55 years with two sons whom I love dearly and of whom I am so proud.  Raising kids as teens in Southern California when drugs were as plentiful as candy during the 70's and 80's, was no picnic but having made the first two decisions, (and now being a committed Christian, with a loving husband, so I wasn't alone),  I wasn't about to give up.  

Do you remember the movie "Chariots of Fire"?  And do you remember one of the characters in the movie who was an Olympic runner saying to his girlfriend, "I won't run if I can't win"?  She replied, "Well you won't win if you don't run."  

That clip certainly made me think.  I never thought I was good enough at anything.  A definite perfectionist.  Never good enough for myself.  So if I was going to be a mother -- and a wife -- I was going to be a GOOD one.  Our high school principal had one motto which she used frequently:  "Standards, girls, standards!"  I guess that seven years of that drilled into me definitely 'took'.  But I don't regret it.  Just wish I'd cut myself some slack once in a while.

So here they are, as loved as much as any mother's sons could be:

    SON #1


SON#2

Then of course there's my other 'boy' who did all his part and much, much more:
...wearing his lei from the Islands of Micronesia...

...and yet another 'boy' doing what he does a lot of:
He has taken to lying on his favorite toy, just in case someone will play with him.

Thanks to the ABC team who work hard at keeping this project going, now in its 15th round.  Please click HERE to see all the other enterprising entries.  I promise you will learn something new.

P.S.  FOR AN ABSOLUTE THRILL ON THIS TOPIC PLEASE ALSO VISIT  HERE.   I promise you won't be disappointed.

13 comments:

snafu said...

Looks like you are quite justified to be proud of your 'boys'. Life is full of the unexpected and you always seem to end up in a very different place to what you first imagined.

snafu said...

Looks like you are quite justified to be proud of your 'boys'. Life is full of the unexpected and you always seem to end up in a very different place to what you first imagined.

Meanqueen said...

Very handsome boys you have there.

Nonnie said...

your 'boys' are a handsome pair! you were just the opposite of me because I knew I would get married and have children- that was #1 on my list; 2nd was to become a teacher, which I did. and I'm happy that I did both!
as for your cat, he's probably worried someone will take his toy!

Roger Owen Green said...

You did a great job with your boys!
ROG, ABCW

Black Jack's Carol said...

Oh my, Chris, I loved this post for so many reasons. The quote from "Chariots of Fire" and the thought that "cutting yourself some slack" would have been okay, but then, the love that comes through loud and clear. That is the crux of your post and it made my day :)

Unknown said...

What a beautiful post on family. Congratulations on completing 55years...woot woot...

Carver said...

Great shots of your family and post. I didn't do a B post this week. Carver ABC Wed. Team

mrsnesbitt said...

Lovely family Chris.
Thanks so much for contributing. Denise ABC Team

MorningAJ said...

Thanks for the link, Chris. You have a fine set of boys (of various ages and species!). You have every right to be proud.

kaybee said...

Four handsome boys - who could ask for anything more? You are blessed!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

You have 4 very handsome boys.

claude said...

Oh yes ! Son1 and son2 are both handsome boys !
Good work with the thrird boy !
Pat to the cat.