Just go with it

I always thought I would have a house full of boys. I grew up with 5 brothers and that’s just all I knew. So I ask myself often why God keeps sending me girls. Now, I wouldn’t trade any one of my girls for a million dollars…maybe 2million..har har, but I just don’t know how to do girl. I still don’t know how to do my own hair let alone my girls’ hair, I never really got along with other girls because I just didn’t fit the mold and I just have no patience for all the drama.

But here I am. Floundering helplessly with a bunch of girls.

ElRey just walks around with a stunned look on his face wondering where ElRey Jr. could possibly be. I think he might worry that he might one day start having a period and an overwhelming need for brownies if the estrogen in this house doesn’t get under control.

I have to admit that when we found out #4 is a girl, I was a teensy bit sad. I had gotten to the point that I was hoping for ElRey Jr. So when there was no stem on this apple, I began to wonder why someone as unqualified to handle girls would keep being blessed with little princesses. I friend of mine happened to show me a quote from one of our church leaders (who has since passed but is one of the most amazing orators I’ve ever listened to):

“…We ought to be content with the things that God hath allotted to each of us. If, indeed, the things allotted to each of us have been divinely customized according to our capacity, then for us to seek to wrench ourselves free of our schooling circumstances could be to tear ourselves away from carefully matched opportunities. To rant and to rail could be to go against divine wisdom, wisdom in which we may have concurred before we came here. God knew beforehand each of our coefficients for coping and contributing” (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Feb. 1979, 73).

Now I realize the fact that I have all girls is really not that big of deal-they’re healthy and nothing else matters. But it has thrown me for a loop and it often scares me for what’s ahead(yes, boys have their own set of challenges). When I read that quote I started thinking more about  it and I realized something. Heavenly Father knows exactly what he’s doing, even if I am standing here bamboozled and scratching my head. I feel like with my special personality and lack of girlish behavior, I can help balance out my sweet girls. I’m almost like the big brother they never had. I can even teach them the art of belching. Most of the time I am pretty even keeled and low maintenance (please refrain from checking that fact with my husband at this time) so when there drama or hypersensitivity gets up to DefCon 4, I can bring them back down without the help of an Exorcist just by being my dorky self.

Maybe I am giving myself too much credit…

Another thing we have going for us is, ElRey. He is the perfect dad for girls. Granted, he doesn’t get the emotional roller coaster but he takes good care of all his girls and willingly passes out plenty of affection in the form of tickles, hugs, kisses and the occasional Daddy/Daughter date. I’ve always feared a teen girl’s need for affection and where they might go to get it but I look back to my teen years and while I kissed a few boys, it never went beyond that. I believe that is thanks not only to how I was raised but to my dad. He may not have been around a ton because he was working day and night so my mom could be home with us kids but there was no doubt of his love for his family and I know there was plenty of affection growing up. He also showed my brothers and I how a man should treat a woman. He loved, and still does, my mom as much as he did the day they were married. He proves it daily. And even if his proof usually causes any witnesses to throw up a little in their mouth, it’s alright by me cuz his wife deserves all the proof he can offer.

That is how ElRey is with me. Yes, we often turn stomachs and my kids usually groan and moan and try to ‘break it up’ if they every witness it, but what they will one day realize is the gift they have been given in having such a loving dad to them and their mom.

So I may not know how to always do their hair and I know I will not be the best instructor in makeup and style, and we may often stand and stare while the meltdown of the century takes place in our living room but I would like to believe are doing the best we can and they will never question our love for them. They may even become belching champions of the South Valley Regionals.

I’m thinking Heavenly Father really does know what he’s doing.

But I still fear the day they are all on the same cycle and I’m menopausal. Watch out, ElRey….This could be a bumpy ride…