My Boys

People who know me well, know that when I talk about "my boys", I'm often referring to the ones I took care of for seven & a half years. The ones I planned to be a nanny for right out of college for only one year, yet when the day came to leave them to pursue my "real" career, my heart crumbled into a million little pieces, & I returned back to them in just two weeks {it may have been less, now that I think of it}.

"My boys", the ones who preceded me down the aisle at my wedding as curly headed little ring bearers.  The ones, who as teeny tiny newborns, laid sleeping on my chest for hours on end so as not to upset their acid reflux.  The ones who I endlessly rocked in rocking chairs, & kissed away boo-boos.  The ones I sang silly made up songs to.  The ones I read stories to & tucked into bed with soft blankies.  The ones I made Valentine treat boxes for school each year.  And at Christmas time had them over to my house to roll out  homemade sugar cookie dough.  The ones I schlepped to swimming lessons & soccer practices & parks & play dates.  The ones who taught me a lesson or two in Temper Tantrum 101, & gave me the lowdown on how to potty train boys...four different times.  The ones who people would stop me in Target to tell me that "your boys look just exactly like you" {I always loved that}.  The ones who still to this day send me video birthday messages & call to wish me a "Happy Mother's Day".

Truth is, "my boys"--they're not really mine.  They don't actually belong to me.  We've got different DNA, & they have biological parents who adore them.  Thankfully, those biological parents were gracious enough to allow me to step in for awhile & love on their boys.  But go & try telling all of that to my heart.  Because it sure as heck doesn't know the difference.  These boys, they may not belong to me, but I'll tell you one thing, a big piece of my heart sure does belong to each one of them.  

And when I've got all five of "my boys" right at my side, all those pieces of my heart, that each one of them holds, they come together & fitly join to make my heart so full & perfectly complete that it could simply burst.

I think Adam said it best as we were leaving...

We were telling Jett to say bye to his "cousins" when Adam turned around & said, "Wait.  Is he our cousin?"  Michelle answered him saying, "Well, he's your "honorary" cousin."  Adam shrugged his shoulders, hopped on his bike & mumbled just loud enough that I barely caught it, "Hmmm.  He feels more like a god brother."

Couldn't have said it better, Adam.  Couldn't have said it better.