Before you ever get pregnant, all you hear about is how hard it is to raise children. The funny thing is, I always assumed they were talking about financially or time consuming. Never did I think they meant hard to actually raise a child…teach them how to act, how to be polite [or at least not be so rude], how to do things for themselves, go to the bathroom and washing your hands afterwards [each and every time], all those daily things we take for granted that our parents had to diligently teach us when we were growing up. That is what’s hard about parenting. When it comes to getting Raven up in the morning, getting her ready and out the door, I got that down and could do it blind folded. I can give her a bath, feed her dinner, and get her ready for bed but what about all those finishing touches? Like, teaching her how to clean herself in the bath, how to eat her dinner without using her fingers to scoop her noodles onto her fork, and how to pick out a book before bed. It’s all those little things that shape who our children are and who they will become. That’s the challenge of being a parent because, no matter how much we’d like it, they don’t train easily. It’s not like a puppy where you teach them not to jump up on the couch and every time you catch them, you swat them down and before you know it, they don’t do it [or at least jump down and run as soon as you walk into the room and notice they’re somewhere they shouldn’t]. Children? Way different! They master each and every way around what it is you actually told them not to do. They are extremely talented in ways to push their luck and make you crack a smile while you are in disciplinarian mode.
By the end of the day, when they are lying in their bed [and sometimes your bed] fast asleep, it’s so easy to get lost staring at their precious face and porcelain skin. I love to listen to her breathe and see her stomach rise and fall with each snore [that she must get from her father]. It makes you realize that they are where they are because of you. How can something that started out so small and helpless be turning into this little person so full of life?
When you stop being weighed down by the heavy load of everyday lessons-and you sit back and look…really look…and what you’ve accomplished….it makes it that much better.
So, from now on, when someone asks me if it’s hard to raise a child, I’m not giving away all my secrets. I’m going to let them find out those secrets on their own…it makes it that much better and that much more rewarding. Children really are a precious gift from God and I've been so blessed!
By the end of the day, when they are lying in their bed [and sometimes your bed] fast asleep, it’s so easy to get lost staring at their precious face and porcelain skin. I love to listen to her breathe and see her stomach rise and fall with each snore [that she must get from her father]. It makes you realize that they are where they are because of you. How can something that started out so small and helpless be turning into this little person so full of life?
When you stop being weighed down by the heavy load of everyday lessons-and you sit back and look…really look…and what you’ve accomplished….it makes it that much better.
So, from now on, when someone asks me if it’s hard to raise a child, I’m not giving away all my secrets. I’m going to let them find out those secrets on their own…it makes it that much better and that much more rewarding. Children really are a precious gift from God and I've been so blessed!
