Gentleman-In-Training

Do any of you other boy moms ever think about what kind of husband your sons might be someday?
I thought about it a lot over the summer while I was doing ALL of the dishes, ALL of the laundry, and ALL of the straightening up around the house.  I won't claim I did ALL of the cooking, because summer is grill season and I leave that to the Doc.  I wouldn't want to take all of that fun with fire away from him.  Or maybe... I just never learned how to use the grill and the Doc is so darn good at it.
But I digress.
Admittedly, in a moment of anger, I hit the ceiling one day.  I had enough of waiting on these boys hand and foot and decided I was no longer going to be bound by servitude to these young men in my home.  What the heck was I thinking when I cleaned dishes for a 14 and 9 year old boy every day?
It was time to rock that boat.
One month after my meltdown, my boys are still grumbling, but this mama is a whole lot happier. These are things they need to know how to do someday when they are on their own.  It's all about training, right?
And as I started to pat myself on the back while thinking their future wives will love me someday, I had another wake up call.
The date.

I took my 9 year old on a date.  

The Doc took our oldest to the high school football game and let Jacob and I have the Blue Man Group tickets.  Jacob and I would always choose a show over a hot and sweaty football game.
Jacob and I were really excited about our night out.
As we began planning our evening, I realized that I had a long road ahead of me in preparing my little Romeo for his dating future. The following is a list of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Bad - He fussed about having to wear fancy clothes.  Fancy clothes meant a shirt with a color (Underarmour, of course) and khaki pants.  He wanted to wear flip flops with athletic shorts and a t-shirt. Good - He kept telling me that I looked pretty and he loved my hair. Bad - He wanted to take me to McDonald's. Worse - His alternate option for dinner was Taco Bueno. Worst - His third and final dinner offering was Sonic. The Compromise - We ate at Chili's.  I didn't want Chili's but at least it didn't have a drive through. Good - He wanted us to sit on the same side of the booth. Good - Again, he tells me I look pretty and kisses my cheek. (sweet, sweet boy!)

Best - He brings a dollar to buy us a "romantic treat" at the show. Not-So-Good - The "romantic treat" costs $2 and he chooses Skittles, knowing how I detest Skittles. The Ugly - I have plenty of money to cover the Skittles and buy myself a consolation bag of M&Ms.  I ate the whole darn bag by myself in about 5 seconds. Good - Once again, I get to hear how pretty I look.  I'm beginning to believe it less and less and wonder when the next request is coming. (Note to self - Jacob needs to expand his vocabulary a bit)
It looks like I will be having to tell this child that his flattering words will only take him so far.  
I'm so glad I have a little time to set things straight.

My fancy man puts up a rockin' pose with the Blue Man Group band!

All joking and grading system aside, an evening with my 9 year old is always a highlight. Always. Let the training begin!

Mrs. Priss
Feeling pretty... oh, so pretty... like


(Name that musical!)