So, in case you weren't aware parenting is not easy. Parenting teens is comparable to assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. This past week has challenged me as not only a parent but a person.
First off ,I have some down right amazing kids and who would've thunk that I'd get to belong to them? Sometimes I simply don't deserve the honor. Even with difficult weeks such as this. You see ,I have come to discover just what makes this parenting thing so difficult, besides the whole not coming with instructions thing.
Parenting requires a certain skill of deep self reflection that bluntly no other relationship presents ( except one with Christ of course). These little people that you helped bring to life are without a doubt the most beautifully frustrating entities that you ever have the pleasure of dealing with. There is simply no job I'd rather do than feebly attempt to shape and mold them.
Even when it requires a long, hard and disappointing look at myself. When your child does wrong or has to be corrected, you want nothing more than to stop and prevent repeat offenses, often (& dangerously) pondering ' where I went wrong'. As dangerous as this thought process is, it can be healthy to a degree.
When I correct and guide my child (ren) I want to ensure that I am living up to and fulfilling my end of the deal. I want to be living a life worth modeling. Here's where that healthy deep self reflection comes into play: sometimes it hurts but it is necessary.
I want my relationship with each of my children to be sustainable, long lasting and genuine. We will survive this era of teenagehood and all come out better for it.
