( In case you didn’t gather it from the title, this blog isn’t about food or weight or anything like that!)
Every stage of parenting has those times when you feel helpless, confused, frustrated, sad, etc. All the feels.
It begins as early as the moment you decide to have kids. With infertility, those sad and helpless feelings come sooner in the parenting journey rather than later.
Then the anxiety of pregnancy. The “normal” worry of parents who haven’t tasted the bitterness of loss, and a worry that comes from knowing things don’t always turn out the way you plan. For us, 3 out of 5 pregnancies ended with a healthy baby that came home with us.
Of course, those toddler, kid, tween, teen years have their own helpless, confusing, frustrating times galore, too.
And then you arrive at the stage we are in. We have a 21 year old, a 19 year old, and a 16 year old. I can honestly say that it is in this space we have inhabited since our oldest became a teenager that has brought me to helpless tears the most.
Watching them wrestle with heavy decisions that you can’t make for them feels excruciating sometimes. But all you can do is pray and help them lay out the options, encourage them to think through the ramifications of each choice, and then let them decide which way they want to go.
But the hard truth that they can only learn for themselves is that sometimes life isn’t fair and neither path seems great.
When you want to throw some punches for them in the name of justice and fairness, you have to hold back so their decisions aren’t influenced by your anger or hurt at the situation. (And also because you don’t want to go to jail. 😂)
So, that’s where we are tonight. Proud of a kid for making a well-thought-out choice that was really, really difficult for him to make and brought sadness for all of us, as well.
But here’s to new lessons learned, brighter days ahead, and raising kids who think for themselves.
Only by the Lord’s Grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment