Mothers of Sons

While watching the John Wayne movie "The Cowboys," it occurred to me that every mother of young boys should watch this movie at least once, if not once a year, while raising their sons. This story exemplifies the spirit of the journey of young boys to men and what capacity these young beings have for courage and strength. This country was founded by men who carried with them in their hearts and souls the spirit and courage of boys. The desire to explore, the curiosity to venture further, the willingness to die for the courage of their convictions -- that is what young boys have the ability to do if not stifled by political correctness, the women's movement, the feminization of our society.

Mothers of sons -- these small wonders that God has blessed us with were not meant to sit still, be quiet and stay clean (there is the exception of church, weddings, funerals) For boys to grow into men of fine character and be confident in who they are, they need to be active, explore, take things apart (and not put them back together), break things, make a lot of noise and get dirty. For whatever reason, society has now pigeon holed men into the category of being violent and stupid. (I suspect that is because there are so many families out there without the fathers around).  This only deepens my convictions that a family unit is so important; family doesn't necessarily need to be blood relatives, it is the group of people who you can depend on, who nurture you and who love you. But boys need men in their lives to emulate.  Boys, now more than ever, need to be encouraged to explore, break things, make noise and get dirty.  These attributes are learned from fathers or male figures in their lives. However, these boys can also learn to be loving and caring which is learned from their mothers.  However, the loving and caring should not overshadow the courage and strength meant for them to be men, it should be in conjunction with.

I will admit, that given the chance, I would have been an overprotective mother; but because of the wisdom of my wonderful husband, there wasn't much of a chance of that happening. My husband knew (much better than I) that little boys needed to fall and get hurt and get back up and make noise and get dirty and be loud because he use to be one.    Mothers of sons, you have to be strong and let them explore, let them fall and get hurt, let them get dirty and make lots of noise (anyway, it's when they are quiet that you have to worry!) A mother's job is to assist their children in being God loving, God fearing, honest, courageous people of fine character. That is the goal anyway, and while that may not always be the final destination, we have to at least give them the tools that they need.

For the past 23 years of being a mother of sons it has not been easy for me to let go.  I had to keep telling myself that God gave me these wonderful beings to help them on their journey of living life and it was my husband's and my responsibility to get it right.  (Believe me, I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if I hadn't had my husband beside me every step of the way whispering in my ear that I could do it.) 

Mothers and fathers, we must teach these young men in training personal responsibility and to have the courage of their convictions.

Love, Momma Richter