It's a Tough Job but Someone's Gotta Do It.
I've been thinking lately about raising children. No, I don't plan on raising anymore thank you. Been there, done that. Time to move on to other pursuits although I do admit there is no bigger and better experience to be had than to bring children into the world, watch them grow, instill values as they do and let them go, hopefully to make the world a better place. It's a lot of work but very rewarding when you're done and can look back on it. The problem is, it goes very fast. Expedientially fast. Think race cars around a track. That's how it feels when you're all done.
I remember when we sent our last one off to college. As I wandered the now empty house a few days later, I remember asking my husband, "Did we really have kids, or was this all a big dream?" It was now once again just the two of us. He assured me, they'd be back...and he was right. But now with one married and another well on his way, they won't be coming back as often. Now more than ever I can see how important it is for married couples to have a life outside their kids. Once they're gone, life goes back to the two who started it all.
So, I was thinking, do you realize we give our kids the best years of our lives? It's the time of life when we are young and fit and for the most part the most mobile and energetic, but then we have kids, and poof, there goes all the plans we had. All our time and energy is now put into these little packages we bring home from the hospital that grow up to be moving energizer bunnies. We went from pee wee baseball, basketball and swim lessons to cub scouting, little league and piano lessons to boy scouts, x-country running, track, basketball, skiing, football, band practice not to mention school events ( field days, field trips and concerts) birthday parties, and sleepovers. Thank goodness mine were all boys so sleepovers were minimal. Don't forget the graduations, grade school, middle school, high school and college. So for three kids that's 12 graduations to attend. Of course you can't miss a one or you'd be thought of as a bad parent. Oh the guilt!!
Then we have the appointments, doctors, dentists, orthodontists, school conferences, speech teacher, PTA's, coach's meetings before and after every season not to mention ferrying each one to their first jobs. Whew, it's a good thing I was too busy to assess what I was doing. I just kept going and going...........usually to the grocery store because dang it, we kept running out of food. And what about milk? Ha, I was manufacturing my own when they weren't looking. Fooled them but that's another story.
So now as if I hadn't done enough, I was asked today if I'd like to donate some brain lobes to do an experiment on my brain. WHAT??? Well my eldest is getting into brain surgery research stuff and was asking if I'd be interested. I'm not sure, but I think he was kidding. I hope he was. He said we can actually touch our brain through our ears if we push the Q-tip in far enough but he didn't advise it since it can cause hearing loss.
So I guess what it all comes down to is we are never done parenting....even when they are out of the house, they always want something!!! But I am keeping my brains thank you. That is where I have to put my foot down and while doing so, I'm keeping my ears covered.