Boys will be boys?

One of my son's prized toys happens to be a shiny red miniature vacuum cleaner. I bought it for him when he was about thirteen months old when he began admiring mine so much. It looks exactly like a real Dirt Devil upright. When it's turned on, tiny foam pellets dance around in a little window and it makes a delightful motor sound, which is undoubtedly why Connor loves it so much. He's also quite rough on it, and that's probably what caused the handle to snap off a few days ago. Connor was troubled only briefly; he brought the mangled toy to me and quickly directed his interest elsewhere in the playroom. Neither of us thought much about it after that. Then last night, he picked up the broken handle of the vacuum, looked it over briefly, and with a flicker in his eye that could only be described as "instinct," he raised it to his cheek, leveled it, and scrutinized his vision down the shaft of the thing. "Ka POW!" he shouted. Cut to me, suppressing mild disdain. We don't allow toy guns in our house, and we're fairly selective about what we allow Connor to watch on television. Where had he picked up this notion? I asked him.

"The Incredibles, Mommy."

Score one for the little guy. We let him watch that one. Wow, that plastic handle does look a lot like a pistol. Weird. Should I take evasive action?

Christian author John Eldredge seems to be the popular subject of bloggery amongst my friends these days. If you're not familiar with his books, there are two you simply must read. The first, about the heart of a woman, is entitled Captivating, and although I have yet to read it, I am told it is amazing and insightful and reveals how women are made by God to desire to be valuable, to be sought after, and to be fought for. Incidentally, that's the same relationship we are designed to have with our Lord. Wild At Heart, which I have read, is the second book. It's a comparable look into the psyche of the male, about how he desires three things, namely, a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. For me it was most enlightening. Here's a passage that was brought to my mind last night:

Capes and swords, camouflage, bandannas and six-shooters--these are the uniforms of boyhood. Little boys yearn to know they are powerful, they are dangerous, they are someone to be reckoned with. How many parents have tried in vain to prevent little Timmy from playing with guns? Give it up. If you do not supply a boy with weapons, he will make them from whatever materials are at hand. My boys chew their graham crackers into the shape of hand guns at the breakfast table. Every stick or fallen branch is a spear, or better, a bazooka. Despite what many modern educators would say, this is not a psychological disturbance brought on by violent television or chemical imbalance. Aggression is part of the masculine design, we are hardwired for it. If we believe that man is made in the image of God, then we would do well to remember that "the LORD is a warrior; the Lord is His name" (Exodus 15:3)...Like it or not, there is something fierce in the heart of every man.

So here we go, cannons forward, into the mouth of boyhood. Good thing I've got Connor to defend me.