Growing up is hard

   Growing up. How do our kids do it?

   It consists of a lot of moments. Moments when parents have to stay focused so that they don't miss them. Which is easy to do when you are running low on coffee. But moments never, ever, come back. Like the moment when your baby gives you that first toothless grin. It melts your heart and you want to take a picture so that you can remember it forever, except you can't, because you can't go looking for your phone at a time like this. Aside from the night light in your baby's room, it is dark in the house and everyone is sleeping. Moreover, if you leave the room, that precious grin will disappear and be replaced by loud angry wails that will wake the entire neighborhood. At three thirty in the morning, that would make you very unpopular.

   By six o'clock the moment has slipped away and you are just an overtired and cranky parent that has to be functional for the rest of the day. Toothless wonder, however, is ready for breakfast and babbling away.

    Toddler years with all the magical milestones (and not so magical ones) pass with a flash.

 

A parent does their best to get pictures of some of the magical ones.

And sometimes some of the not so magical ones. Because quite frankly , they are really funny later. And that helps the not so magical moments become more bearable at the moment they are happening.






   Before you know it, you find yourself releasing your precious little one into the hands of insane strangers. They have to be insane. Who in their right mind would willingly spend all day, every day with four to six year olds? Or eight year olds. Or, gulp, Jr. high students? They must be positively certifiable.

   Even if you really, really, really love the little darlings, remember, these are the same kids that put their dirty clothes on the floor...right next to the hamper. The same individuals who don't think showers are necessary every week (let alone daily). The same persons who are too tired to push a vacuum across the floor of their room (providing they can find that floor) but insist they they can stay awake well past your own bedtime. The same kids that have grown from cute toddlers to young men and women who have perfected the eye-roll.

   Sometimes you just want to strangle them. Which goes against your overall goal of keeping them safe and alive and mostly in tact. Not to mention that this might involve jail time.

   As if all of this parenting isn't hard enough, they become teenagers. You begin to cherish every moment you can get with them as you recognize your time together is growing short. Perhaps you send them off on a trip, with a tug in your heart that you are letting go of your baby while at the same time praying that the adults who will watch over them will be able to practice your incredible self-restraint that keeps you from strangling them on a daily basis.

   As a parent, you recognize the signs that your child is growing up. The evidence is there, they no longer fit in Santa's lap. Even though they might try. When did that happen? Your'e not sure, but it does make a magical moment.

   Parents have to face the moment when their children ask for the keys to the car. That expensive vehicle sitting in the driveway. The one you are still making payments on. As a parent, you are supposed to recognize their need for independence and give them the keys. So that they can get mad at you when they get a ticket for speeding. Or have an accident leaving it full of dents.

   You may want to take a picture of this moment. So you can laugh later. 

   Remember, these pictures help with the not so magical moments. Keep your hands busy so that you can fend off the urge to strangle you precious children. Because growing up is hard enough without jail time.

   Growing up. I guess the real question is how do we parents do it?