I’ve reached the stage in my parenting journey where I apparently don’t know very much, however my children know everything.
90 percent of parenting at this point in time is them whining about “Why do they have to do everything” while you are in fact doing everything…Out of all of my body parts I feel that my eyes are in the best shape as they do hundreds of eyerolls every single day.
The thing is, motherhood may be the scariest hood you will ever have to walk through.
For starters, it is filled with deadly lego that could attack you at any moment. Deals are being done at every opportunity for nearly every single interaction, and if you have food on your plate that you are enjoying, they will take it off you if they want it. Nothing is safe, and even in your own home you can wake to them looking at you an inch away-heavy breathing, likely with some sort of germ they want to infest you with.
If it’s not the germs, projectile excretions, mess that they make, or the never ending loudness that makes your ears ring when your ears finally have some silence, it’s worrying when there is silence- what the heck they are up to? (No good is usually the case, as they say silence is golden unless you have a child).
The first rule or parenting is that rules are made to be broken, as are your favourite teacups, glasses, necklaces, plants, phones, I-pads and anything else they get their hands on.
Often people say “your kids have so much energy, where do they get it from?” Mothers know – they suck it from our soul. Pre-children many of us felt like we had an abundance of energy, however now, no matter how much rest we get, that relentless parenting brain is always thinking of the million tasks we need to manage on a daily basis. The most energy we ever have is when we hear a yell, scream, or cry and jump into Mumma bear action like a ninja with boundless energy.
I question my parenting a lot, but I think we should also be questioning our children’s childing. How can putting a pair of shoes on before you leave home turn into such a drama that sees you telling the kids to put on their shoes, you walk out the door, drive the 15 minutes to school, line up in stop, drop and go (wait, wait, and get irate zone) and then as they go to hop out of the car- said shoes are still at home and you need to make a decision as to whether you send them shoeless or drive home with them to get them…How can these little humans suck so much time out of life from not doing a simple task is probably one of the most infuriating parts of parenting.
Bedtime is another example, why do children have another burst of energy that’s just stored for bed time where they turn into dehydrated philosophers who finally want to spend time with you?
Motherhood is by far the most challenging hood you will ever walk through. If parenthood came with a GPS it would constantly be “recalculating” or suffering from a flat battery.
Lucky many of us have some incredible people in our life that hold our hands and hearts when we are scared or worried, they show us love and compassion and help us through the tough times, and they are the light in the darkness when we need it, making walking through the hood, the best neighbourhood you have ever been a part of.
