Help! I Lost My Parenting Handbook
This parenting stuff is the hardest job and often comes with little recognition or appreciation. There are no awards, no ceremonies, no promotions or raises. We don't get much vacation time and we don't get a lot of sleep. We are chefs, maids, chauffeurs, teachers, coaches, counselors, nurses and more. So many days it can be exhausting and we fall into bed and crash the second they're asleep.
Mornings in this house sometimes feel like a circus act, as I juggle waking a cranky teen, trying to finish getting myself ready and trying to get a toddler ready whose favorite new words are, "I wanna do", which he says about everything from zippers to seat belts as we are already running late. Sometimes it is hard to find time to breathe and sometimes I find myself feeling thankful for an hour commute, in which I finally have time to pray and drink some coffee. I often float into work feeling energized and ready to take on the world, nevermind that only an hour before I was peeling a screaming 2 year old off of the floor after putting his milk in the wrong cup. Epic fail! Spending that quiet time with God always seems to get my brain (and heart) back on track. Think that means I should do that first thing every morning? What a difference that could make!
So many days it feels like I am just fumbling through parenting and praying I don't screw up royally, but when I bring these concerns to God, He reminds me that I am human and that it's ok to make mistakes. The important thing is that I show love to my children every day in my words and even more importantly in my actions. I talk to them about God, we pray together, we hug, we kiss, we laugh and sometimes we cry, but at the end of the day, when they lay their heads down, they know they're loved, even if they're mad they got grounded for something "stupid" or they didn't get that cookie they wanted. They have parents who mess up, but they have parents who will always be there for them and will always love and support them. All we can do is our best and we have to give ourselves a little grace now and then. God does. So even though there are no medals and we'll probably never get to be on Ellen, I still cannot think of anything else that I would rather do than be mom to my kiddos. They mean the world to me and bring me an abundance of love and joy and I wouldn't trade this crazy life for anything!
In the midst of the craziness, how do you stay grounded in your parenting? What are some ways you deal with morning meltdowns and sippy cup fails?
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 NIV
This parenting stuff is the hardest job and often comes with little recognition or appreciation. There are no awards, no ceremonies, no promotions or raises. We don't get much vacation time and we don't get a lot of sleep. We are chefs, maids, chauffeurs, teachers, coaches, counselors, nurses and more. So many days it can be exhausting and we fall into bed and crash the second they're asleep.
Mornings in this house sometimes feel like a circus act, as I juggle waking a cranky teen, trying to finish getting myself ready and trying to get a toddler ready whose favorite new words are, "I wanna do", which he says about everything from zippers to seat belts as we are already running late. Sometimes it is hard to find time to breathe and sometimes I find myself feeling thankful for an hour commute, in which I finally have time to pray and drink some coffee. I often float into work feeling energized and ready to take on the world, nevermind that only an hour before I was peeling a screaming 2 year old off of the floor after putting his milk in the wrong cup. Epic fail! Spending that quiet time with God always seems to get my brain (and heart) back on track. Think that means I should do that first thing every morning? What a difference that could make!
So many days it feels like I am just fumbling through parenting and praying I don't screw up royally, but when I bring these concerns to God, He reminds me that I am human and that it's ok to make mistakes. The important thing is that I show love to my children every day in my words and even more importantly in my actions. I talk to them about God, we pray together, we hug, we kiss, we laugh and sometimes we cry, but at the end of the day, when they lay their heads down, they know they're loved, even if they're mad they got grounded for something "stupid" or they didn't get that cookie they wanted. They have parents who mess up, but they have parents who will always be there for them and will always love and support them. All we can do is our best and we have to give ourselves a little grace now and then. God does. So even though there are no medals and we'll probably never get to be on Ellen, I still cannot think of anything else that I would rather do than be mom to my kiddos. They mean the world to me and bring me an abundance of love and joy and I wouldn't trade this crazy life for anything!
In the midst of the craziness, how do you stay grounded in your parenting? What are some ways you deal with morning meltdowns and sippy cup fails?
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 NIV
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