I keep remembering that boys should climb tall trees and jump in rivers, be adventurous and use their ingenuity. They should get dirty and build, grow chin hair and be allowed to go a few days sweaty, without a shower...they should be just a little dangerous, lift heavy things, climb tall mountains...maybe even beat their chest a bit. Raising men means giving them a little freedom to be dirty, daring, and adventurous boys. Enjoy those days of dirty faces because one day too soon, they will be clean shaven. Put up with the stinky socks...it's not a hill to die on. Bend down to their level a hundred times if needed to tie that shoe...soon, they will likely tower over you. Hug your boys in the mornings, tell them you love them every day, kiss them as long as they'll let you. Tousle those locks before the baseball hats are introduced. Listen to the often times slightly whine-y voice ask you the same question over and over and over. Soon the whine turns to a squeak, and the squeak to a baritone. Enjoy the days of boyhood... Slow them down... Catch tadpoles, make mud, kiss boo-boos, play cops and robbers, and ride fake horses because one day, much to soon, that boy... becomes a man.