Musings on Being a Parent

As a parent you go through so many stages - getting to know them as babies, the love that develops, the intense dislike when they begin to test you, and the letting go as adults.  As a parent, I've experienced every emotion and know that every stage is fraught with challenges.

The vows you take when you get married say nothing about parenting, yet so much of our married lives are taken up by parenting and child-rearing. I think if we focus on our marriages, we are able to be better parents.

Sometimes, I don't want to know what my children are doing - especially as it relates to some of the choices they make, because maybe I'll be disappointed. I've learned that pray is the only thing that can soothe my troubled mind.

Parenting is hard - because every child is different and just when you think you have this figured out another child comes along or a new personality trait develops.

As a parent you have to be cognizant of how you treat each child in relation to his siblings. Jacob outwardly favored Joseph and that didn't go over well with his brothers. Then there's the child that's needy, difficult, different, who may ultimately require more attention than the others; you hope each sibling understands, but sometimes they don't.

I wish my parents said "I love you" more when I was growing up.  Now I say it so often it sometimes seem trite.

Seeing my parents as old, humbled me.  I had to hold my father's hand when walking and become really patient whenever we went some where.  It made me wonder if my children would do the same for me when I become old.

As a parent, you may have regrets.  My father often says "He did the best that he knew how to, at the time." Wrapped up in this statement is the unspoken - " Now that I know differently, I would have done some things differently."

Parenting is rewarding - the hugs, the love, becoming young adults that value what you value...priceless!

God is our Heavenly Father and his Heavenly attributes outweigh mine.  As a parent, I become impatient, I snap if I'm tired or hungry, I'm not always loving, I sometimes feel overwhelmed. But God is never like this - He's patient, loving, and kind all the time and as a parent this gives me something to aspire to.

my children

Are you a parent? Do you have any additional observations and insight?