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“Life is always full of the unexpected as the mom of a boy,” says Ursula Page of Thomasville, Georgia. “You never know when they will appear with a bug or frog in their hand and they are fascinated by things that may gross you out! As the mom of a boy, life will never be boring!”
Kristi David of Houston, Texas, agrees. “Whether it is from your son jumping on the bed or sneaking up behind to give you a tickle, there is never a dull moment! But, it is by far, the greatest joy in life to see this little baby grow into a little man.” And, isn’t that the dream of many moms of boys, to raise great men who will have good hearts, be strong but sensitive leaders, achieve their goals and live content lives.
Moms know that a lot happens between the dependent stage of infancy and the independent stage of adulthood to create these great men. Diapers turn to diplomas. The constant din of noise is replaced by quiet. Then one day, instead of bringing you crickets while they are covered in mud, a son will bring his own children.
Wherever you may be in the stage of parenting a boy, the story of his life is important to tell. The joys, tears, quirks, strengths, challenges and celebrations all deserve a place in the chronicles of his life. Jody Dent-Pruks of Thirroul, Australia, shares her sentiments regarding why she scrapbooks about her son. “Boys keep so much inside with the pressure from society that they are supposed to be tough,” she says. “I wanted him to see that we knew how he felt on the inside, and that those feelings were OK.”
The Memory Makers series on family continues by featuring a rough and tumble, but sweet and loving look at sons. Check out the following layouts and see how these moms recorded moments of their son’s lives for their own history books.
No Longer a Boy
Capturing a moment of transition, Suzy Plantamura, Masters ’06, took these photos of her son near the end of a summer vacation when, she says, “Thane still had the little boy look that I think has left since then. I wanted to capture the essence of where he was at that point—kind of a boy, becoming a man.” Her color scheme coordinated perfectly with her photos, bringing out his blond hair and tanned skin. Her journaling shares her feelings about seeing him grow and mature.
supplies: Patterned papers (Dirty Laundry) • Green, blue papers • Rub-ons (7 Gypsies, Autumn Leaves, Creative Imaginations) • Ribbons (Autumn Leaves, Making Memories) • Chipboard tag (WeRMemoryKeepers) • Stamping Ink (Ranger) • Vintage Typewriter font
Dear God
Many moms can relate to Stephanie Vetne of South Bend, Indiana, when she shares a day in the life of a boy and his mom. She says, “I had a rough day with him, he wasn’t listening, he was throwing things, bothering his sisters and then I saw this photo and just sat down to write the first thing that came to mind. The journaling was a mixture of gratitude, exhaustion and a plea for help!”
supplies: Black, white papers (Bazzill) • Patterned papers (SEI) • Letter stickers (Doodlebug) • Dali and Garamond fonts
