Blessings and Lessons

I’ve been thinking about parenting and children a lot these days. Having my son and his family living with us and having the college kids home last week, I was really conscious of my children- who they were and who they are. I realized (for the zillionth time) how precious they are to me. But I also realized how much they had taught me. In regard to Mother Teresa’s quote, I feel that children are both a blessing and a lesson all rolled up into an amazing package.

It’s easy to count the blessings. There is a love that is often indescribable. Joy. Pride. Exhilaration. Excitement. Wisdom.

But the lessons- those are the real blessings.

Rocky Mountains 2004

I put in endless hours, effort, emotion, worry……. into a labor of pure love that might not reap anything. Parenting is a crap shoot at best. You can do everything right and still have unpleasant results. I’ve witnessed it in other families.

And the lessons I have learned are priceless-

• Putting all this work into these little beings with no guarantee of their outcome taught me faith.
• Being taken down by the most stubborn three year old in history taught me humility.
• Finding out that the third child can defy every parenting rule you know and challenge every parenting skill you have taught me to be adaptable.
• Having a child who moves at a different pace than the rest of us taught me patience.
• Sending these precious little guys out into the world to learn lessons on their own taught me vulnerability.
• Watching my son mirror my own parenting style with his children taught me that even when it seemed like no one was listening, I did get through.
• Enduring over 12 years of parenting teenagers taught me restraint.
• Experiencing three wildly unique personalities taught me to celebrate each one’s individuality.
• Living through these past 2+ years since all of my children reached the ages of 18 and older taught me that parenting is a job that never ends. 

  

  Airport last month

Dedicated to Michael, Kris, Andrew, C.J., and Beej- my true blessings

-Kat

 

This post is part of Writer’s Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge- Wisdom hosted by Ronovan Writes and Silver Threading.