The Love of a Parent
Disclaimer: I realize there are some parents that do not fit this description, and I deal with the repercussions of that almost daily. I am planning another blog for issues related to the other types of parents.
As most of you know, I am a parent to two wonderful children. This consumes most of my time, energy, and thoughts. I can honestly say that being a parent is the most rewarding and wonderful thing I have ever done in my life. It is also the most challenging.
I find that most parents that I interact with both personally and professionally feel the similarly. I think as parents we really want what is best for our children. We want them to better than we are. We want them to have more, be happy, be successful, not have the same problems we did/do, not struggle for anything, not make mistakes and have heartbreak like we did/do, and not worry about things like we do. I believe these wants and desires drive many of the decisions we make as parents.
The more I work with families and the longer I am a parent, I realize there are no perfect parents. The only perfect/pure thing about parenting is the love we have for our children. The rest of the time we are human. We do what we think is best, and we make mistakes. Some of these mistakes are minor like letting our child eat too much candy the day after Halloween or Easter, but sometimes they have lasting effects on our children like exposing them to domestic violence. Other times, our children start to make mistakes (drug use, legal charges, etc.), and we just don’t know which way to turn. We want to do what is best for them and get them the help they need. But how do we do that? Who do we talk to? Where do we go? What is the best method?
I think after these mistakes and during troubled times, it is important to return to the root of our love for our children and our desires for them. They may not understand this love and our desire for their lives, but sometimes they just need to know that we do love them. We do care for them. We do want what is best for them. Just hearing, “I love you. I care about you. I want what is best for you” can bring about an amazing sense of calm and bring things back to our roots, to a place to build from.
Parenting is a long and complicated road filled with lots of joy and lots of tears. It’s not easy at times, but it’s nice to know that you aren’t alone on the journey.
What are some of the mistakes you have made along the way? What are some of the most difficult decisions you have had to make as a parent? Are you lost and need some help finding direction. Let’s talk.
