Parenting, where do I start. Let's just be honest for a bit. It's glorious, it's difficult, it's hope for the future, it's draining, it's the best and the worst thing you will ever do!!
If you don't have kids yet and want them someday just leave this post now, walk away. Nothing to see here just an exhausted mom's rant that may be more birth control than you need! Go on. Get out of here.
Back to it parents, I mean come on. It's stupid hard to walk around with your heart on the outside of your body, it's just not natural. To always be on the lookout for the next death trap only a child can find. To clean their hands and try to keep them away from this pandemic only to turn around and find one licking a doorknob and the other rubbing the bottom of her shoe with her nose!
And seriously who is able to spend the day arguing with a tiny version of themselves?! Like really we all thought we are super awesome, then enters a mini me and humility. For real, now I know what is wrong with all our parents and why they love the grandkids WAY more than us! It makes complete sense to me now.
I mean my husband and I used to be kinda cool or whatever you would call it these days. We had friends, we hung out with said friends, we were spontaneous and adventurous and stayed out too late plenty of nights. Then we would sleep in on the weekends... Wow! That was something! Not anymore! We are up before guardian angels are and that is dangerous!! For everyone!!! As my husband said that other day, "I love you, used to be my favorite three word sentence, now it's, 'Dad, I'm done!'" Happy Saturday morning to me and let me tell you what that gets you right out of bed! No snooze button on that one, because heaven forbid the mess a two year old can make trying to wipe themselves. 🤦
But honestly, most days it's knowing you could have been better, wishing you would not have said half the things you said and wondering how much therapy your kid is going to need in order to be "normal" after you get done messing them up!
It's sticky, it's icky, it's snuggly, it's cuddly, it's the best of times and knowing each day that one more day with them is gone. It's hard, it's stressful, it's beautiful, it's peaceful moments, it's complete chaos, it's the greatest challenge of a lifetime. The calling is great and therefore so is the challenge! At the end of day once the little cherubs are sound asleep it's trying to whisper to them just how much you love them. But you know there are no words that could ever come close to explaining all you feel. And then it's kicking yourself because you WOKE them up and now it's back into the bedtime vortex for you!
It's the single greatest joy of anyone's life it's the most important job any of us will ever have. And it's a 24/7 commitment for a lifetime. I see you. I feel you. I am you. Take a deep breath. One more, relax your shoulders and your fists. Pull your tongue off the roof of your mouth and give yourself some grace. Remember you too are loved and valued and someone feels the way about you that you feel about those little circus animals that are your own. Don't be so hard on yourself. Go to bed! Get some sleep. Lord knows you need it! And know that kids are resilient. Really they are, watch a little one learn to walk and you will see just how much that is wired into our very being. They will wake up tomorrow ready to try out a new day. Ready for you to be the parent you promised yourself you will be. You got this! They will be ready for your hugs and kisses and snuggles. Ready to yell, "I'm done!" Ready to eat and refueled to do it all over again! So for now be kind to yourself and sleep because it won't be long until they wake and you get to do it all over again.
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