Why I love being a parent...
No this is not an April fools joke post. Since my recent postings I have gotten two main types of feedback. The first from my friends with kids, is "were you spying on me and my kids?" The second, is mostly from my sister's friends who are in their 20's is, "OMG I am never having kids."
So this post is mostly for the second group. But it is also for me. I think with all of the work we do as parents, inside and out of the house, it can be easy to lose sight of the good stuff. We get caught up in the day to day tasks of cleaning, and cooking, and working and shlepping, and wiping which are not so fun. It drives me nuts when someone has a new baby, or someone whose kids are grown says to me, "enjoy every moment". I have not met one parent who enjoys every moment of parenting. I don't think it is possible to enjoy every moment of anything! Nobody enjoys cleaning up bodily fluids, or being sleep deprived. FYI.
But every day there are moments that make me love being a parent and so here is my list of the good stuff for today.
- Kids are hysterical: Every day my kids do stuff that cracks me up. Most of the time I am laughing at them and not with them. But if I do want to laugh with them, all I need to do is poke their bellies or say the word "fart" and there are instant hysterics. And then I crack up. Try not to laugh when you child is hysterically laughing. It's impossible. Also sometimes its funny when they have a tantrum for a ridiculous reason (they didn't get to open the door, or eat mud, or play with knives, etc). Have you seen this website? I love it.
- I get to relive my childhood. Today I got to go on a field trip with my daughter's class to the children's museum and it was so much fun. The kids get so excited and I remember how much fun field trips were when I was in school. Also on our most recent trip, I totally saw Disney World in a new light. Also you get to go places that if you went as a single adult people would think you were creepy like playgrounds, kids movies, children's museums, etc. And that stuff is fun, even for adults!
- You realize simple pleasures. We had the best family outing the other day. We took the kids to an ice cream stand in a train car. It is next to the railroad tracks so you can watch the trains go by and eat ice cream. My kids were in heaven. Often times we think as parents we have to do all this big fancy stuff to make ourselves and our kids happy. But really it is the simple things that have the biggest impact, and are sometimes the most fun.
-Kids learn stuff. All the time. And there is nothing that makes me prouder as a parent when I get to see that happen.
-Someone is happy to see me every day. When I pick my kids up from daycare in the afternoon I get the best reception, like teenagers on Justin Bieber. My son screams my name and jumps on me. And it is awesome.
- I get to raise children with my husband. I love my husband and I am lucky enough to have him be my partner in crime through this parenting stuff. And even though they wear us down sometimes they also bring us closer. And there is nothing better than seeing that your partner loves your kids as much as you do.
- I get to see my parents be grandparents. My kids are so lucky. They have 4 amazing grandparents who love spending time with them whether it is in person or virtually through skype/facetime. They also have 4 great grandparents who are equally amazing.
Ok so enough mushiness for today. I promise, next post I will get back to complaining about cleaning up poop and vomit. But for today- happy things. What are your favorite things about being a parent?
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So this post is mostly for the second group. But it is also for me. I think with all of the work we do as parents, inside and out of the house, it can be easy to lose sight of the good stuff. We get caught up in the day to day tasks of cleaning, and cooking, and working and shlepping, and wiping which are not so fun. It drives me nuts when someone has a new baby, or someone whose kids are grown says to me, "enjoy every moment". I have not met one parent who enjoys every moment of parenting. I don't think it is possible to enjoy every moment of anything! Nobody enjoys cleaning up bodily fluids, or being sleep deprived. FYI.
But every day there are moments that make me love being a parent and so here is my list of the good stuff for today.
- Kids are hysterical: Every day my kids do stuff that cracks me up. Most of the time I am laughing at them and not with them. But if I do want to laugh with them, all I need to do is poke their bellies or say the word "fart" and there are instant hysterics. And then I crack up. Try not to laugh when you child is hysterically laughing. It's impossible. Also sometimes its funny when they have a tantrum for a ridiculous reason (they didn't get to open the door, or eat mud, or play with knives, etc). Have you seen this website? I love it.
- I get to relive my childhood. Today I got to go on a field trip with my daughter's class to the children's museum and it was so much fun. The kids get so excited and I remember how much fun field trips were when I was in school. Also on our most recent trip, I totally saw Disney World in a new light. Also you get to go places that if you went as a single adult people would think you were creepy like playgrounds, kids movies, children's museums, etc. And that stuff is fun, even for adults!
- You realize simple pleasures. We had the best family outing the other day. We took the kids to an ice cream stand in a train car. It is next to the railroad tracks so you can watch the trains go by and eat ice cream. My kids were in heaven. Often times we think as parents we have to do all this big fancy stuff to make ourselves and our kids happy. But really it is the simple things that have the biggest impact, and are sometimes the most fun.
-Kids learn stuff. All the time. And there is nothing that makes me prouder as a parent when I get to see that happen.
-Someone is happy to see me every day. When I pick my kids up from daycare in the afternoon I get the best reception, like teenagers on Justin Bieber. My son screams my name and jumps on me. And it is awesome.
- I get to raise children with my husband. I love my husband and I am lucky enough to have him be my partner in crime through this parenting stuff. And even though they wear us down sometimes they also bring us closer. And there is nothing better than seeing that your partner loves your kids as much as you do.
- I get to see my parents be grandparents. My kids are so lucky. They have 4 amazing grandparents who love spending time with them whether it is in person or virtually through skype/facetime. They also have 4 great grandparents who are equally amazing.
Ok so enough mushiness for today. I promise, next post I will get back to complaining about cleaning up poop and vomit. But for today- happy things. What are your favorite things about being a parent?
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