Parental Surprises

 Look who I caught taking a peek today: 

Baby Robin

In contrast to the peaceful innocence of the little robin, I will grudgingly admit that I have been stewing over some parenting criticism I received from a friend. I'm not quite sure that she was aware of the implications of her comments, but they certainly took me by surprise. Since it took me a while to absorb the full meaning of the conversation, I didn't respond at the time, which is certainly better in the long run. However, I'm having a hard time letting this go....which I really, really need to do!

So, after going to the gym this morning and stewing over things for an entire bike ride and run, I decided to take a step back and try not to think about it anymore.  (We'll see how that goes since this isn't one of my strengths...)

So, here are today's summary thoughts on parenting:  I am far, far from perfect. My children are even farther from perfect, particularly during the hours of 3:30pm until dinnertime.  Every single child has different needs. Parents have different points of emphasis on issues, and in the long run each of us can only try our best. Sometimes you can't even quite give it your best since you've spent the last 14 hours just trying to keep it together and you're just plain worn out.

Speaking in sports terms, parenting really is much more like a marathon race than a sprint. So, pace yourself, and only fight the daily battles that are the most important. Maybe even try not to make it a battle, but more like a lesson since parents are (hopefully) more like teachers than army commanders.  Right now, we're working on kindness here.  And manners.  And patience.  And using our words.  Based on how things are going, this is going to take a while. 

And, for Ben, I guess we'll add staying clothed...since he just walked in with his shirt off, diaper showing, and wielding a toy hammer. Time to get back to parenting.