The picture moment of the day was this: I’m sitting in the middle of the sofa with the computer on my lap, Tio is crammed so hard next to me on the left I can’t move my elbow, Kit on the right with his legs draped over my lap, and Doc stretched along the back so his head hangs over my shoulder. There wasn’t anything to see particularly on the PC, they just crowd close to me like puppy dogs around their mamma wanting a part of whatever it is I’m doing. This is my place in their world. I’m the momma bear. When Tish got home and things were getting a bit wilder, she took Tio by the ear and sent him packing to his room, insisted that Kit stay downstairs until supper and basically kept law and order. She plays papa bear. I keep order, too, but a bit looser which exposes a gray area between having fun and showing disrespect towards me. It’s important that they don’t cross the line but I can’t do as good a job, keep as close an emotional eye on them, if I keep them at arms length. That’s where Tish comes in. She makes sure they give me some space and mind their p’s & q’s. As I say, it’s not that I don’t dish out the necessary, it just comes out differently and she keeps the line sharp.
I’m really glad that Tish is such a strong woman and female role model for them. Firm, kind, and fair. Without going into why and how, she’s the antithesis of all the other women the boys have been exposed to through their lives. Seeing a smart, capable woman help shape and lead them down the road is critical for them finding balance to understand women and men and the what the human world is really made of and their place as men in it.
