TITLE: Parenthood has never been easy! By Michael Joshua 10/11/09 |
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If you thought having a child would give you someone that would make your life meaningful, HA! to you. Children are hard work, they don’t appreciate you until they become parents (and sometimes, not even then.) They need, need, need. From helping pull up their pants, to putting on their shoes when they’re WAY TOO OLD to need that help. But, you know, it won’t be so long until they not only won’t need or want your help, they won’t even want to be in the same room (city) with you. If you think seven-year-olds are hard, wait until she’s fifteen and knows everything. They don’t know what it means to be broke, at seven or fifteen, and worse than that, they don’t really care. Just get whatever they want, NOW! They’re selfish and needy, that’s just how it is.
And to top it off, they’re like little mirrors and tape recorders. Everything you say and do bounces right back to you. That four-letter word that you shouldn’t say around them will come back to you (out loud) at the most inappropriate time (like when you’re sitting in church.) That time you raised your voice, or even screamed at her because life’s pressures are too much, and she was the only one in your life that HAD to take it from you… will come back to you when your four-year-old screams at you when things aren’t working out in their little world. Something as simple as the DVD not playing the show they thought it should - will become a screaming fit because that’s how he saw you handle things not working right. They observe and react the same ways you do.
Darn! No more tantrums for you (at least where they can hear it.) Unless, of course, you enjoy hearing their tantrums, because you get back what you give.
All in all, parenthood is the hardest thing you will ever live through. These young years, that you should be enjoying, are just adding to all the things pulling at your life.
Suggestions from thousands of grandparents:
Step back, take a deep breath, know that it will get better. The children are not here to make you feel good about yourself. You are here to make them feel good about themselves. God has given you the greatest gift; He has trusted you with His creation. So, realize that pulling up their pants, helping put on their shoes, rubbing their belly when they don’t feel good…these are the good times of life. Take a couple minutes and play with her, watch that cartoon, and let the rest of life pass by. This time will be gone before you know it and you can’t get it back. Don’t let the everyday struggles that adults have to deal with become their problems. They can’t fix it, so don’t make them pay for it.
And cuddle, cuddle, cuddle! There’s nothing like a cuddle to make everything right in their world and yours! Soon, it won’t even be an option.
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