Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Parenting is hard

Last night my three year old came out of his bedroom....again.  "I'm scared," he fretted as my husband and I were sitting in the living room.

Having kids is tough.  Knowing what to do and when to do it is tough.

Recognizing his clever bedtime stalling technique, I quickly sent him back to bed. If there ever should be a Guinness World Record for bedtime stalling this boy would win!  He wailed and wailed.  Fit!  I told myself.  He is throwing a downright fit!  And so started the parent vs. child circle.  He would cry, disobey, get disciplined, cry some more, throw fits. At times I would sigh, turn to my husband and say, "I think its your turn."

After about an hour in the battle of the wills, my husband looked at me and said, "I think he really is scared."
Humm....really?  I thought,  I stopped and listed to the exhausted three year old cry from his room.  My heard sunk a little.  He does sound scared.  I thought about how he was acting a little attached to us all day.  I called out to him to come here and pulled his little body up into my lap.  And I felt bad for not doing so right from the beginning.

He fell asleep quickly and I held onto him thinking about how fast these years go.  My baby is three.  His body is long and heavy compared to the small bundle I used to hold so tightly.  How big of a deal is it that he falls asleep in my arms instead of his bed?  I asked myself.  This won't last forever.  


Sometimes it so hard to know when to stick-to-your-guns, so to speak, or to just let it go.  Knowing which battles are worth fighting is easier sad then done. There are many other roles or jobs out there that I can do, but never is there anything else in the world, than this, that would be so meaningful and delightful.  Yes, there is no question about it; parenting is hard, but it's so worth it.