 This girl is a dream come true for me as well. If I could have
fashioned another daughter, I could not have done as well. She is
perfect for my son.So how did this perfect girl get hooked up
with my not-so-perfect son? True, he gets more perfect as time goes
on, but I'm his mom. I know the boy he used to be.
This is the same boy who, at 3 years old, turned the garden hose
on his 70-year-old grandfather and chased him around the yard with
it. Is that imp still inside him? I still see it in his eyes. I
suspect, however, that if he turned the garden hose on his fiancée,
she'd probably take it a little better than his grandfather did. In
fact, she may even get him back by pouring a bucket of cold water on
him while he's in the shower.
He is the same boy who, at 10 years old, tortured his little
brother by sitting on him and not letting him up until he ate the
skin that's left on the side of a pot after boiling noodles.
He probably wouldn't do that to his fiancée, though. With age has
come a bit more... restraint. He knows that his body wash would be
laced with jalapeno pepper juice if he was to torture her in such a
way. Did I mention how perfect she is for him?
This is the kid who sneaked downstairs one Christmas morning
before dawn and opened every present under the tree before his
parents woke up.
This is the boy who climbed up my hallway divider by straddling
it in bare feet, made forts out of my lawn chairs, piled the sofa
cushions up and balanced himself on them, and would only eat peanut
butter and jelly and macaroni and cheese. To be fair, I have not
seen him do any of these things in many years.
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 The guy whose greatest wish at Halloween was to scare the pants
off little kids by sitting on the front porch and pretending to be a
monster, now has a softer side. When he spies a sweet little toddler
with big blue eyes and dressed in a princess costume, he is careful
to take off his mask, greet her with a smile and dole out double the
candy. He just can't stand the thought of that sweet little face
running from him in fear now. That change can only be the influence
of his future wife. She makes him want to be a better man.
He has empathy now, where before there was only derision.
This is the same guy who said, not that long ago, that he would
never marry, didn't want kids and would be just as happy as a
bachelor. As his mom, I knew that kind of life would never make him
happy. He needed only to meet the right girl and she would convince
him otherwise.
My son has his fair share of testosterone... and then some. He's
all macho and full of bravado and hard edges.
But he's in love, and that makes all the difference. He shows his
softer side more often now and, for those of us who love him, that
is a side we are delighted to see.
I once thought he would wait too long to ask this treasure to
marry him and that she might get tired of waiting. I should have
given her more credit, though. She's here to stay and I couldn't be
happier about it!
When he called to announce that he'd asked his lady to marry him,
my 12-year-old daughter asked what we all were thinking:
"And did she say yes?"
Indeed she did. Oh, happy day!
[By LAURA SNYDER]
Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist,
author and speaker. You can reach her at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com
or visit www.lauraonlife.com
for more info. |
