Today I witnessed a clear expression of the inborn role of a man. I had the opportunity to introduce our kids to my favorite childhood game, Candyland. Oh how I wanted to be the princess! It was a pretty fair success teaching a 4 year old and two 2-year-olds how to play. What was most impressive was how Rourke took it a step further.
Rourke was having fun drawing the cards, so I left him to moving his gingerbread guy (the green one, of course) and took Frannie & Lydia upstairs for their nap. When I returned, Rourke had turned a truck on it's side as a fort, placed it on the game board between the evil Lord Licorice and the sassy Lolly and the beautiful Princess Frostline. Two of the gingerbread men were standing standing on the tires of the truck and the other two he was walking around the truck.
When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "These guys (the gingerbread pieces) are keeping these girls safe from the bad guy."
WHAT?!! This is play he has never encountered, he really came up with it on his own. We don't really have any movies with such a story line, no books I've read to him, Rourke doesn't have any GI Joes or army guys of any sort...something in him just knew the girls needed protection from the bad guy.
After he was satisfied that the lovely ladies would be okay, he turned the board game into a ramp, turning one of the gingerbread men into a stunt driver, saying, " "look at this trick, mommy."
Somehow I don't think any of our daughters will come up with that sort of storyline.
I am encouraged that my son has an understanding that part of his role as a man will be to lovingly protect the women in his life.
A few other cute things heard in the Alvarado home in recent weeks:
Frannie, "Mommy, I really like this "taught-toe-late hot" (say it out loud with the emphasis on the t sounds and you'll get Frannie's version of Hot Chocolate).
I made grilled cheese for the kids for lunch and told the kids we were going to have grilled cheese. Lydia asked, "Mommy, are you going to make boy cheese for Rourke?"
Rourke's rundown of Zinnia & Esther's doctor appointment, "Yeah, Zinnia got shot today at the doctor and is throwing a fit about it."
Frannie: "I need some stapstick please!" (chapstick)
Lydia is so sweet and always complimenting me, "Mommy, I like your hair that way. It is soooo cute."
Rourke on his jammies, "Yeah, sometimes they get outside inside."