At this stage of having been a parent for let’s see, 21 one or more years, I didn’t think it would still be this difficult. I thought it was supposed to get easier the older they get?!
Apparently the books have it all wrong. The easy part is when they are babies, when they can’t talk back, when they look at you with goo goo eyes and worship the ground you walk on. When they eat everything you put in front of them without question, at least most of the times anyway! Ever had a one year old throw a plate of food they dislike on the floor? Yep, been there! At the time it wasn’t funny. But now looking back on some of the antics my first two have been up to, yep, hilarious!
When they get older, this is the time they need you even more. They need your guidance and your approval. I think it’s great when they seek your approval. That means they have respect for what you think and remember what you’ve taught them.
I love children, always have even before I had my own. They were always drawn to me and I them. That’s a good thing!
Oh but when you have your own children and they get older and have their own minds, which is good because that’s the way you want them to be. At least that shows they are normal! It’s when they don’t want to listen anymore. When it’s like pulling teeth to get them to see reason. That’s when it becomes harder and you sometimes wonder if there’s something wrong with you or your parenting skill or if you’re just getting too old and not that patient anymore. I don’t know. I just don’t want them to think of mom as grouchy and miserable.
In the midst of having fun, loving them and all the good things, one of us has to be the stern parent. Unfortunately that falls on me, and sometimes I hate it. I don’t think I chose that role; it just happened that way because of how I grew up. I was a middle child, and the oldest girl. My sense of responsibility is pretty strong. Somehow I’ve patterned the role my mom played with her family; it’s not an easy role. It’s not that my hubby doesn’t do his part; he does, some of the time. And to give him credit he’ll agree with me most of the time, and sometimes I’m the one bugging him to have some fun. However, there are times when I have to be the one that makes the rules and see that they are kept and that gets tiresome. Because if I don’t well, who knows.
So by the grace of God go I, in being a parent and hoping that what I'm doing, how I'm raising them, is the right thing.