I actually kept myself from saying that today when it was exactly what went through my mind. We were on the beach walking. My four sons and I together were walking along the edge of the water. The sky was blue and only an occasional puffy cloud dotted the sky. The breeze was warm. The sun was shining. The water felt cool and refreshing on our feet. We looked at Pelicans diving. It was almost perfect. I was praying that they weren’t looking at the girls clad in bikinis that barely covered their bodies when it happened. One of those girls approached us. She walked directly up to my 15 year old and spoke to him.
What sort of girl came up and spoke to him, you might wonder? Well, a blonde girl in a one of those bikinis. Not any blonde haired girl, but a very, very pretty blonde haired girl with a body that deserved to be in a bikini, if I believed that women should go around half dressed, which I don’t happen to believe that they should. Thing is, on a beach you see a lot of people in bikinis that shouldn’t be wearing them, even if you did think it okay to walk around half naked in public! LOL! You know the ones. The ones that are too wrinkled, too heavy, or have had too many children to ever be worthy of such a public display again! Well, she wasn’t one of those by any stretch of the imagination!
As a mother you know at some point your children grow up. As they hit puberty you realize this in bits and chunks. Certain body changes take place, voices deepen, and their faces don’t look like little boys any longer and … other “things” clue you in to what is going on. You realize, and you hope, someday, to be blessed with daughters in law; and in the very distant future, very distant future, grandchildren! Yet, it is always a shock when you first start taking note that the members of the opposite sex are taking interest in your children. My boy? My baby? Are you talking to my son, you?, the unbelievably attractive blonde in the bikini? Oh, no Lord! I am not ready for this! Yet, here it is anyway!
I turned and heard my son say, “ I don’t know. I think we are leaving.” Clearly he was not ready for this either! Whew! Thank goodness! And I stared with a blank look on my face, still not believing that this gorgeous creature before me wanted something from my son. I asked. “I’m sorry. What is going on?” I was informed that this beautiful girl with long blonde hair and even longer legs had asked my son, “Would you want to surf with me?” Hmmm … now that is a loaded question!
You’d have been proud of me! I closed my mouth, quit staring and gained enough composure in time to
make some quick calculations. They were motherly calculations. It is unbelievable how quickly your mind can do this. I quickly thought. This is going to keep happening. He needs to safely be able to figure out what to do. This is a perfect opportunity. She is likely from out of town, state even. He is from out of town, out of state! They will never see each other again. I can be right here and monitor this situation. I think all of these things very quickly, not even a few seconds has passed! I looked very calm and relaxed and said, “Well, we are not ready to leave quite yet. You can surf for a while if you want to! “
It worked out just as I had planned. He tried to skim the water a few times on her skimmer surfboard, and they walked back and forth while I unabashedly kept looking in their direction. I am not a subtle mom, by any means! LOL! A half an hour later and it was over. This beautiful girl of 16 will return to New Hampshire, and my handsome son of 15 will return to Ohio. No harm done! Whew! Escaped that one! What will it be like the next time? And will I fair as well? Will he fair as well? Just what is a mother to do? Oh, thank goodness I don’t have daughters! It would be even more frightening! How did this happen? When did this happen? Oh, be still my anxious heart. Four sons! I will encounter these scenes countless times! Again, and again, and again! AARGH! Oh. Heavy sigh. It is okay. It is good. It is the way it is supposed to be. It makes me nervous. It makes me edgy and feeling inadequate as I travel into unknown territory!
I will need lots of strength from above.
