Relentless

Years ago someone asked me what the worst part of parenting was. To be honest, the question felt like a blow and I think if that person was honest with him or herself, they meant it just to be shocking. Perhaps I had gushed too much about my lovely daughter. Of course there are difficulties in parenting.

Frankly, I really love being a mom. Or maybe more, I really love my daughter. I didn’t know what love meant before her. Honestly I never understood it. My life before was so boring and empty and lonely actually. I know this sounds amazing.

Being a parent sounds amazing, like I joined a MLM scheme of something, but over the years I have thought about this question. Here is my answer:

Being a parent is relentless. No matter what, at least for the foreseeable future, you will wake up by or before 6 a.m. every single day. You are responsible for a small person’s survival and they must be fed, clothed, cajoled, cuddled every single day until, God willing, they move out.

Even then, when they aren’t with you, you are still thinking about them. You worry every day. I thought this would stop when my child started to sleep through the night. Nope, the worry just shifts to something new.

Not only do you worry, but until they are legal adults or at least at the age of reason (whenever that happens) you have to deal with those worries real or imagined. That means taking them to the dentist or doctor or orthodontist. You have to meet with teachers and hover over homework.

Are they making friends? Are these friends good influences? Is that rash contagious? When will they be able to wake themselves up for school in morning? Should we become vegans? Will my child be successful in school?

And it never lets up. Relentless. You have to accept it is relentless. It will never stop. It can be overwhelming, but you have to accept it. You accept it as part of the gift of becoming a parent.