This Parenting Gig is Hard

"They don't come with instruction manuals. You just have to figure it out as you go."

Those words were daunting the first time I heard them fourteen years ago. I was young and completely overwhelmed at the prospect of being a mom. (I guess it was more fact than prospect as Miracle was in my arms at the time.)

Now, all these years later, I still find motherhood daunting. It's a fine line we must walk, and my balance is not the best. We must protect our children from that which would harm them. Unfortunately, life itself can be harmful. So much in our world would like nothing more than to completely devour our children. And so we hold them close to us, daring the world to come near, willing to do whatever is necessary to protect those we love most.

But.

They must learn to survive on their own. They must learn to defend themselves, to make their own choices, to contend with life. They must know disappointment, broken trust, heartbreak. They must learn the sad reality that people are not always as they appear, that they don't always keep their word, that they are not always nice.

But.

You don't want your children to become so cynical and disillusioned that they have no joy. You want them to enjoy the wonderful things the world has, the amazing people they will meet, grab opportunities to explore and be and learn.

So, you do the very best you can to find a balance. You protect them for 18 short years. And you equip them for the rest of their lives.

Oh, that time would slow and that the 18 years would last longer.