Friday night I was on the phone with my son and in the background I could hear one of the girls yelling something. My son was laughing so I knew it wasn’t one of those difficult moments. The youngest was wandering around, finger pointed at various things; animate and inanimate, yelling “Never ever ever!” She repeated this over and over.
Don’t ya love those moments. Horrified parent as child says some bad word. My first? In the library, at children’s hour, and suddenly I hear a 4-letter word pop out of his mouth! Shocked, but almost amused, I look at the librarian and say, “Did he just say what I think he said?” Affirmative.
We’ve all had them. Temper tantrums, inappropriate or highly personal family information blurted out to a stranger, having the neighbor call to tell you your child is practicing his toileting skills in the back yard and on and on.
For no reason in particular here’s a list of the joys and downsides of parenting:
- Snuggling with an infant, her finger wrapped around yours
- The closeness of having a nursing infant making eye contact with you
- Knowing that she has finally fallen asleep and you can resume the evening’s activities
- Having someone else tell you how well behaved your child is
- The first successful time on the potty
- Watching your first born walk independently into the kindergarten class room
- The first picture, drawn and presented as a gift to mommy or daddy
The less joyous moments:
- Temper tantrums in the grocery store when you refuse to buy________________ (fill in the blank)
- Stage where he pulls himself up in the crib but can’t lie back down and stands there screaming
- The finicky eater who dislikes every single item of food you try.
- Walking in after naptime to discover they’ve figured out how to remove a soiled diaper
- Vaccination time at the pediatrician’s office
- Watching your first born walk independently into the kindergarten class room
- The terrible two stage where “No” is the only word your precious bundle will utter
- Separation anxiety that appears whenever the babysitter appears
And, in spite of it all, we love our children-unconditionally. We rejoice at the first grimace or smile and we rejoice when they graduate from high school. No matter how many sleepless nights we endure, or the battles over food or clothes or homework, we love them day in, day out. If I could go back I wouldn’t trade parenthood for the largest pot of gold. The teen years? Maybe.
What are some of your most memorable childrearing moments?
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