Being a Parent IS Hard...

I was talking to a friend of mine earlier today about our daughters who are behaving badly, her teenager that has depression and her other daughter going through puberty. She summed it up saying, "Being a parent is SO hard! I QUIT"!

Of course, we know we can't quit at teaching, helping, caring for and loving our kids, but sometimes it feels so overwhelming to deal with ALL the many things we, as parents, deal with. It IS challenging to raise independent, responsible, kind, happy, obedient children! We do our best to love them and help them become the best they can possibly be, and in the process, when things don't go as planned, we feel as though we have failed. I Constantly pray for patience, guidance, patience, love, forgiveness, and did I mention patience????

I often need to stop, take a deep breath, and tell myself to chill the freak out! I notice that I get impatient and grumpy when I'm in a rush to get everything done and checked off my to do list. It always seems like a daunting task to get everyone, myself included, where they need to be. Life is busy and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. My husband is always so good about reminding me to relax by saying, " Leave the dishes! Let's go play with the girls"! Or "come outside on the porch with me and just chill". My mind says, "but you haven't finished the laundry or cleaned up dinner or......" There will always be some chore awaiting, but those kids will NOT always be there, wanting you to play with them, or read them a bed time story. This message is more for myself than for any of you who are reading this post! As a reminder to myself, I say, "Enjoy those tender moments before they're gone"! You and I will all keep our sanity. Things will work out, and we don't even have to quit parenting. We can make it through another day, another week, another year! Be loving, be gentle, be kind, be patient, be playful, be happy, and be well.

BHW  

Enjoying a happy moment!!!