When Nathan and I decided to have a baby, we imagined what it would be like to raise our sweet bundle of joy. We looked forward to all sorts of things like watching our son take his first steps, or playing baseball with him in the backyard. We imagined teaching him to ride a bike or how to catch a fish.
I didn't necessarily consider realities like finding my toddler had smeared his own poop all over the living room floor, AND furniture, AND kitchen. Or having to call security and form a search because my young daughter was lost in a busy shopping mall. I didn't know that those seemingly perfect family portraits were such a difficult achievement. (Our kids' portrait sessions always involved crying, spitting up, and pretending to be a cow.)
And I certainly didn't want to imagine emotional issues of raising kids such as bullying or when your child doesn't like himself. I guess I didn't read far enough into the “What to Expect” books.
Over the years, I can recall countless times where I've thought, “Wow, I never expected THIS as a part of parenthood!” Like when my 5-year-old son decided to take off his seat belt and open his car door… WHILE I WAS STILL DRIVING! Or, having to determine that my 7-year-old was struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Years ago, as I was contemplating a career path, I considered (for about 1 minute) entering the medical field. But I didn't like the sight of blood, puke or mucus. Little did I realize that when I became a mother, the title automatically included “In-Home-Nurse”. Thankfully, God has seen me through as I have experienced ALL three of those bodily fluids… in the same hour!
More recently, I've found myself as a mother with 2 of my 3 children battling a life threatening illness. It requires that I keep track of nearly 20 medications for them, use syringes on a daily basis and operate expensive medical equipment. Who knew? God did. I think it’s interesting that God gives us what we need WHEN we need it. And when we become parents, we’re really a jack of all trades as a cook, housemaid, chauffeur, judge, probation officer, teacher, actor, financial adviser, and circus ringmaster. (It’s true! I literally organized and put on a carnival in my front yard for 500 people!)
The other day, my husband and I found ourselves in a cancer unit at a children’s hospital. (Again, one of those parenting scenarios you don’t expect.) Our son had an appointment with a hematology/oncology doctor and our minds were going to the worst case scenario. While we were in the waiting room, our son stopped and studied my husband’s head. And then he said, “Hey Dad? You've got some new gray hairs!” I laughed and said, “I’ll bet he does! And I can tell you exactly where they came from… YOU kid!”
But I’d take a full head of gray hairs if it meant I could continue to raise my son to a full, healthy life. 1,000 more poopy diapers couldn’t keep me from watching my daughter compete in gymnastics. I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for my daily “morning snuggle with my Bubba.” Watching my kids grow and change and learn has been the greatest and most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.
Parenting is by far the hardest job out there. And you can't possibly predict how it will go. The pay is lousy, the hours are long and the work is never-ending. But you CAN expect the rewards to far outweigh the difficulties. The benefits are beyond measure.