A Trip to See's Candy Shop

02.18.2011

I was at See’s candies yesterday satisfying a chocolate craving and in front of me were 3 boys. Initially, I thought they were at least 7^th graders but another woman in the shop struck up a conversation with them and I overheard that they were 6-th graders. I couldn’t believe it because they were so tall.

Anyway, I was observing their behavior toward the clerks and the woman who asked them questions about school and I was impressed with how polite they were.

It’s very difficult for me to look at boys without preconceived notions. Much of this is due to the fact that I grew up in a matriarchal environment, some of it is because of the views of boys and men that were passed down to me (some of which I assumed as my own beliefs while other conclusions I came to on my own based on my experiences). So there’s about 36 years of opinions I have to sort through and, oddly and for reason unbeknownst to me, I’ve only recently told myself to take a step back whenever I see a group of boys and find that I’m pleasantly surprised by what I see.

For example, I’m really enjoying working with the group of boys I teach on Saturdays. Then, there's observing the polite behavior of the boys at the candy shop. Also, a couple of weeks ago, I was coming into my building and a teenaged boy was walking out and held the door for me. I was pleasantly surprised and sent a mental “thank you” out to his mom for teaching him manners.

It gives me faith that even though I would have NO idea how to raise a boy, were we to have one, I don’t think I’d be as scared as I once thought.