David and I often talk about the comments people make on others parenting...we also find that the people who think they are the best parents are those with NO children...
We were like that once...idealistic with our own ideas on how to become the perfect parent and 'raise our kids right'...we had a picture in our head about what kind of parents we were going to be...the thing is we are nothing like that picture of ourselves. Quite honestly I never was, and the parent I am changes from day to day.
In reality you may think you know what kind of parent you are going to be, but you don't really know until it is 4:30 in the morning and you haven't been to sleep yet, in fact you haven't slept well for days, and your child decides it is time to explore their creative selves through play (I remind you here that is 4:30 AM) that you truly discover what kind of parent you are or will be.
I had one of these moments last night. I discovered that letting the baby cry and potentially wake up the 3 year old is less painful a thought than trying to stay awake and make sure the baby doesn't fall down the stairs. I discovered that I don't believe that the baby really sets the schedule (ok, admittedly I already knew that one), I discovered that her learning isn't nearly as cute and exciting at 4:30 am than it is at 4:30 pm, but I also discovered that I have a lot more patience than I thought I did. Not to mention that I have discovered that staying up until 4:30 am is no longer a thing I can do with ease...my 31 year old self is past the days of staying up all night!
So parents to be...enjoy the dream of your perfect parenting selves and then let it go, it isn't going to happen. For all my parenting friends embrace the learning...you might just discover something amazing about yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment