Ponderings from Parents at the Park

and......

We took Noah to the park this weekend. It was a cloudy, cool Saturday. Despite the weather, there was a sprinkling of children enjoying the late winter afternoon.

One family played angelically with their two and a half year old twin daughters. Angelically, that is, until my son arrived.

Each girl had a bouncy ball that they passed gracefully back and forth between one of their parents. Noah bowled in and grabbed one ball, tossed it across the park, and exclaimed "Now, girl, go get it! Just like a puppy! ARF!"

I wanted to hide until the slide or launch myself off a teeter-totter. The dad raised an eyebrow and tried not to smirk. "I always wanted a son..." he said to no one in particular.

So me, with my experience growing up in large family and my insurmountable Irish bluntness, replied to his rhetorical musing with "Well, what's stopping you?"

"Fear." He replied simply. "What if we ended up with twin girls again?!"

I snickered. "You're talking to the wrong person. I'm one of 12 kids, my husband is one of 5."

He looked shocked and said "But you only have ONE child, right?" I nodded. "I think maybe I AM talking to the right person!"

We chatted back and forth about our kids for a bit. He continued musing. "We thought about adopting a little boy, but you know..."

I remained quiet for a minute. "I do know, actually! We welcomed our son home about 2 years ago. Best decision ever."

At that point Noah began barking and howling. "I'm Scooby DOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he announced. "And I'm going to get the girls!"

The dad seemed unfazed, as his tow headed two year olds were chased mercilessly by my boisterous son.

I'm not sure how we might have influenced his decision - positively or negatively - towards adoption. Perhaps it was just a fleeting thought, like "maybe we should climb Mount Everest" or "maybe I should run a marathon". Maybe it was merely a wishful thought, one that so many of us have but so few of us latch on to.

So park parents -- if you never get the chance to parent a son, at least you saw an excellent example (if I may say so, in my unbiased opinion!) of just how awesome parenting a little boy can be.... even if he howls and arfs at your daughters.