Mamas & Cowboys

Joel is still our little cowboy. I've given up trying to get him to wear nice pants to church. He just wants to wear his Wranglers and boots, so I let him. His cowboy hat is also a necessary part of his wardrobe, but he is required to take his hat off during church. Joel likes to wear his gun holsters to church, too, but Daddy makes him keep the guns in the van because "cowboys don't take their guns into church."Daddy bought Joel a pair of spurs a couple of weekends ago and Joel wanted to wear them to church. Daddy said he couldn't wear them during the service, but he told Joel that he could wear them after church was over. Well, Joel just couldn't stand to wait that long, so right after communion, he plopped down on the floor and strapped those spurs on his boots. I wonder what our Pastor thought (our family sits in the very front row).Lately, Joel has been asking Daddy to buy him a quarter horse and a saddle. Joel knows from a book I read him about horses that cowboys prefer quarter horses. Joel is convinced he'll be getting a horse someday soon. It's not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "when."The other morning Joel came to me and said, "Mamas don't let the babies grow up to be cowboys, Mom."

I replied, "Oh really. Why not?"

"Cause they get dirty. But I'm gonna be a cowboy anyway. You can't stop me."

Something tells me that Daddy going around here singing this song may have prompted Joel's cowboy declaration. That, coupled with the fact that I was not at all pleased when he came into my bedroom the day before we had the above conversation. He was covered in dirt--from the top of his cowboy hat to the tips of his cowboy boots.