- It seems to me that parenting is often times like going shopping. You’re gonna see stuff you love, stuff you hate, stuff you can’t live without, and some stuff you wouldn’t be caught dead in. But, to be fair, it’s much more complex. I suppose you could compare it to a novel by your favorite author, or perhaps your favorite show on TV. Both will have parts that make you laugh and make you cry too, but overall you love it and would read it over and over or watch it again and again.
- I once worked at a pvc pipe factory as a young woman. I was required to remove pipe from the line and stack it on a rolling cart to be binded. Factory work is difficult often in the fact of its monotony. I respect factory workers to this day. Parenting can seem a lot like a factory assembly line, with you doing the same task over and over. Am I cleaning the floor under the kitchen table again?! Days as a parent can be filled with exhausting and exasperating moments. These moments will test your limits, make you scream, make you cry. Sometimes they’ll just make you throw your hands up in the air, wanting to give up. I do believe God secretly likes that. He loves when we admit we can’t do something alone and need His strength.
- Every good book or every show you can’t live without has those frustrating moments. You want to put that book back on the shelf or change the channel! Why did the hero have to cheat on his wife?! I can’t believe they killed off the leading man! But then they redeem themselves with those precious moments that melt your heart and let you know that all is right with the world and any little nuisance can be forgiven. (Yes. I’ve also been watching Downton Abbey). Such is parenting. As I’m cleaning up a gallon of spilt water from the bathroom floor, I peak in on Chloe watching TV. She sits there on the bed, wrapped in a towel, wet hair spiking every which way. The smile of wonder and amusement on her face while she watches the adventures of Calliou is completely precious to me. The baby can cry a hole in my head, but when she smiles and giggles out loud, the frustration I felt during the crying spell is forgotten. I love every precious morsel of it! My shopping spree is an adventure I never tire of. It’s a book I’ll never put down. It’s a show I will stay up all night to watch. One day they’ll grow up. One day the last season will play its final episode. My cherished memories will play them over and over like a favorite box set or coveted DVR recording. Each page will be dog-eared after reading it a hundred times over.
That is all 🙂