Parenthood is a tremendous blessing. It is an answered prayer. It is the greatest gift of my life. But, lawd have mercy, this stuff ain’t for
the faint of heart.
Today I was standing at the back door, watching the kids
play in the backyard with some neighborhood buddies. The man who lives directly behind us came out
to walk his dog. I saw him staring at
the raucous situation that is my everyday life.
And I felt it; the judging. My kids
were running too fast. My kids were
yelling too loud. They were throwing the
ball too far. And honestly, I couldn’t
disagree. But, what I could offer is a
request for some compassion.
I’ve often heard it said that someone is an excellent parent
before they have children, and good grief, doesn’t that ring true. I think about how I said I’d never let my
child have a pacifier past a year old (Hunter was three). I think about how I said I’d never let my
child sleep with me (Jackson
finally got the boot in first grade). I
remember my lectures on nutrition and moderation (Char picked out gummy bears
AND a lollipop at Target this morning and I didn’t bat an eye). It’s just different when you’re actually the
one walking in the shoes you just knew you’d wear so well. It becomes less about proving a point and
more about survival.
I think about how everyone you meet is a parenting
expert. But, you know what, I’d never
think of sitting up in the middle of an operation and telling my surgeon how he
or she might better execute that stitch.
I would never dream of swinging by Jiffy Lube and asking if I might be
of any help to the technician changing my oil.
And, guess what, my children’s teachers are MORE than qualified to do
their jobs without even so much as a whisper of advice from me. That’s right; we leave the experts alone to
do their jobs. But, as soon as we pass a
child in a grocery store throwing a tantrum, we know best. And God forbid that mother or father not look
like they are having the time of their lives, cause then we have to hit them
with the “you’re gonna miss this” lecture that everyone so enjoys hearing.
Y’all parenting is hard.
It just is, and that is okay. Because
as a blogger I love to follow says, we can do hard things. But, you know what advice I’d like to offer
my neighbor and all of the judging eyes of the world, how about you stay on
your side of the fence, and I’ll stay on mine.
