After several comical responses on my fb status update on Monday, I have been thinking quite a bit about all that parenting encompasses and how it affects all aspects of my life. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be arguing with a toddler on getting dressed, taking a bath, brushing teeth, etc..
My parents claim I was always a good and obedient child, which I am quite proud to boast, and although this cannot be placed on a resume, it's still nice to know.
I think back to my grandmothers and my lovely, yet insane cousin who has 5 children and wonder how they kept/keep their sanity.
Are children simply too spoiled today? Are we giving them too many choices and loose iboundaries, or is this the way it has been since the Stone Age?
I don't recall ever dictating to my parents what i wanted to eat, or what I wanted to do for the day. I simply followed along and ate whatever was on the table without question. Then again, my parents had the worst tempers and put the fear of God in me.
As a child, I swore never to have my child walk on eggshells around me, however there are times when I wish she would be scared of me and not make EVERYTHING a battle.
Now I find myself preparing the strangest courses consisting of mashed potatoes, chow mien, beef and broccoli, and yogurt.
My senior year in college I took a psychology course named "Marriage and Family." I only attended it because I needed the credits to graduate....believe me, marriage and family were the last things on my mind.
I read a case study on how a couple crumbled over the pressure of having a baby, and inwardly I thought, "well, it's no one's fault but their own."
I was one of those people who never cared for kids, although I did find babies cute, but kids...never. If I was on an airplane and saw a family approaching I would cringe and hope they would not sit by me, in front of me, behind me, or within the next 15 rows of me. When I received baby announcements from my friends, I would glance at the photo and immediately throw it in the trash. All horrible truths, and now I'm ashamed that I was so insensitive, but as a single person, I wasn't in the least bit moved by these crazy photo announcements, baby showers, or birthday parties.
Now when my husband and I board a plane or enter a restaurant, I see people react like I used to, and I glare at them like "Don't you dare"
Also, the strain of having an intimate relationship with my spouse is basically nonexistent because given the choice of sleep or sex, we prefer sleep. For those of you who are parents, admit it....sleep is much more wanted and needed than sex.
Despite the current drama that is occurring with my lovely 3 yr old daughter, I wouldn't change a thing, except I would have saved up since college so I could afford a 24 hr nanny service instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on useless dresses and shoes.
My most treasured time of the day when I enjoy my daughter is at night when I look at that little angelic face...all those feelings of when she was an infant are brought back, and I fall in love tenfold. Then morning comes and the daily grind starts all over.
If you are a parent reading this and consider me a horrible person for airing my true feelings, then you are a hypocrite because I know these thoughts have crossed your mind as well.
Debbie, my Dear Debbie I do not ever recall me having a terrible temper when it came to you. You never even received a spank during your childhood. And yes you were an obedient child but you also would not go to sleep at night and you were hard to wake up in the morning. Remember "don't tell me the truth" when I would try to wake you in the morning and you would say " I can't open my eyes" then I would remind you how you refused to go to bed early. Remember when you would be sleeping on my lap on your way to your Grandmother's and you would suddenly jump up and take my Vicente Fernandez tape out and put Donna Summers disco tape on. Those are all the joys of parenthood. You need to establish guidelines with sweet Little Maya and stick to them. Remember no eating in the car and the responsibility of bringing in the newspaper every day? Ah Yes the Joys of Parenthood. Your Dear Old Dad. Love you Sweetie.
ReplyDeletenonsense father! u and mom did and still do have awful tempers--but at least it kept me in check to some extent
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