We the Parents

Are you a parent? Do you proclaim to the world, that “Yes, I have children, and being a parent is just the most awesome thing!”? Or do you avoid conversation involving parenting and children? I am a parent. I have done both of the above things. I have days when I feel like SuperMom and I can conquer the world of parenting. Then I also have days when I want to “go on strike” as I like to tell my own mother from time to time. Being a parent is often referred to as a full time job. I like to view it as a full time adventure. Parents will encounter and endure things that “jobs” do not offer.


We the parents are BLESSED, stressed, sometimes oppressed, depressed, feel possessed and badly dressed. We are criticized, demonized, gossiped about, compared to, contrasted, put down, lifted up, encouraged, discouraged, and the subject of conversation from here to yonder in the minds and mouths of countless people. We’ve been picked on, peed on, pooped on, puked on, snotted on, sneezed on, held close, and stomped on by our children from their infancy into the later years of childhood. 


It’s an amazing thing, the impact children have on our lives. From infancy when they capture our hearts, melting us with those wide, amazingly innocent and pure eyes, through the first years of childhood when they pull heart strings, and occasionally cause a little break in our hearts here and there. As parents, we understand the importance of developing the good in our “babies” and encouraging them to continue to do good things. I smile with hope for my boys’ future every time I see them sharing with each other, or other children, with smiles on their faces, wanting to make each other happy. I even catch myself saying, “Let’s keep it that way for the rest of our lives, shall we?”


This is where the reality comes in. We are parents. We are guides. These children who have our hearts in their hands, also have US in their sights…and are following our examples from day to day, wanting to make us happy, firmly believing that if they behave as we do, they will succeed in making us happy. Rules in the house matter, yes. But do we follow our own rules? Yes, there are differences between adults and children in many areas…but behavior is not one of them. Behavior is an external influence, and one of the biggest factors in childhood development. As parents, it is our duty to lead by example, and by example we can either create role models for other children to follow in the future, or role monsters for children in the future to run from!


Are we being examples? Are we doing something FOR our children or TO our children? Do we lift them up? Do we tear them down? Do we encourage or discourage? Are we paying enough attention to our babies, or are we ignoring them, depriving them of the parental love and relationship they will truly need to get through their lives from this point forward? Are we showing our children (mini me’s) the adventures life has to offer them? Our imaginations have not dwindled in our adulthood, they simply altered a bit. Let’s feed the creativity and genuineness in ourselves that our children display outwardly in their youth.


Life is an adventure. Parenting is a part of life, and our children are our fellow travelers in this adventure. New to this road of life, they need to be instructed and directed, but not discouraged from traveling it all the way to the end. One day our children will walk beside us, leading their own children on the road of life. What kind of leaders are we creating? I want my future leaders to have integrity, the trust of their peers, and kindness. I want them to be just, fair, and unbiased. So now, as a parent, I must look at myself. The mirror image of me is what my children will be. Do I like it?


Being peed on and puked on in their infancy is something many laugh at and call cute and funny. Being trumped by something blunt, profound, and blatantly honest, yet cute by them in their early youth is also something said to be cute and funny. Having your heart strings popped by the first hurtful words out of their mouths…this is the beginning of the real adventure. The rain forest is full of surprises every day, some amazing, some deadly. Such is the life of a parent. Take it in stride, find support and be supportive, and most of all, continue to lead. Why? This is just half the fun!