Snakes, Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails

When we were at the lake a couple of weekends ago, Will and Owen spent a lot of time playing with their second cousins, Frank (age 4) and Henry (age 2). They fished, built sand castles, had water fights and wrestled -- all those things boys "do." While watching our boys roast marshmallows around a campfire one evening, Frank and Henry's mom, Ellen (Pat's cousin), said to me: "You know, Nicole, you have such sweet, good boys. Really, you can tell ... just by the way they treat Frank, Henry and each other." I took this as a huge compliment, especially since it came from another mother of boys. I thanked her and mostly agreed, though slightly suspiciously, because did she just see Owen toss that handful of sand at her son?

I didn't really think much about this moment until last weekend when the boys and I made our first visit of the summer to Fort Snelling Beach. Will and Owen love it there; it has a huge sandy beach, shallow water perfect for practicing the dog-paddle and a playground within earshot of the lake. When the weather warms, we head to this beach at least once a week.

On this particular visit, it was warm and windy. The boys were playing in the sand when a huge gust of wind rolled through, sending our towels flying. A mother and her young daughter had set up "camp" about 20 feet from us, and the wind toppled their large bucket of sand toys. Sand pails, small shovels and a beach ball sailed past us in the air. Without a thought, Owen jumped up and began retrieving the toys. He returned every single one to the little girl's bucket with a friendly "here you go!" I was so proud of him, and proud of Pat and me for somehow instilling in him the importance of being a good Samaritan.

So, yes, I do have sweet, good boys. And I'll just keep telling myself this so that the next time one of them informs me that he won't be my friend anymore, I won't be so offended.