One of my favorite parts about reading blog posts or news stories are the comments. Some comments are mean spirited but most of them are people coming together in solidarity.
“Thank you for saying what I could not put into words.”
“Life is so hard.”
“Yes. This! I’m so happy to hear I am not alone.”
We spend too much time judging other parents
And I realize that we are so busy comparing and criticizing ourselves (and others) that we so rarely take a moment to pat ourselves on the back.
When was the last time you thought to yourself “I am ROCKING this parenting thing?”
We often feel alone. We cannot imagine that anyone else has it this difficult. We are drained and often want to hide in the bathroom for 20 minutes. Or 20 hours.
Here’s a thought. What if we joined hands in this parenting thing instead of knocking each other down all the time? What if we supported each other, rather than criticized each other? Imagine!
Your kid is throwing a tantrum in the middle of aisle 5 and you feel like the entire store staring at you?
What if we verbalized our support for each other?
Most likely they are staring because they can empathize. They want to help with your groceries, walk you to the car and say “Been there. Done that.” But rarely do people do that. Instead, we stare. And we are probably empathizing, but we never say it.
Eye rollers in your house? Yup. Me too. Really? You have kids who refuse to talk to you about anything? My god, I feel like everyone’s kids are (Insert here….more communicative than mine. Smarter than mine. More polite than mine. Kinder than mine.)
Drug problems? Drinking? Vaping? Sex? Poor grades? Depression?
You are not alone.
(But I feel alone.)
You are not alone!
Maybe your BFF’s kids are not going through X, Y or Z but I assure you, someone else’s kid is.
And has.
We are parents. And we are people. And none of us are perfect.
We make mistakes and there is no rule book to follow. The woman on the PTO is not any better than you. She may appear to have it all together on the outside, but remember we don’t know what goes on inside.
So when you find yourself at that PTO meeting, feeling less than adequate because your daughter is not the star soccer player or your son is nowhere near applying to the college that your next door neighbor is, just breathe.
Breathe deeply.
And tell yourself you are doing the very best you possibly can.
And you are crushing it.
Even on the days you think you are not.
Because you are giving your child the best gift you can ever give them
Your love.
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