NO! We are not loving every minute. And thats OK!

Are you loving every minute? (Following on from my 'Is she good' blog) Have you ever been asked this? It is a very loaded question with a heavy implication that perhaps you should be. I have been a parent for almost three and a half years, I assure you I am definitely NOT an expert. I am learning every day, getting things wrong and getting things right…cherishing every little win! In this time, however, I have spoken to a lot of mums (and a few Dads); I feel very fortunate to have a very honest and 'real' bunch of mum friends, we never pretend everything is shiny and perfect! It is my honest belief that the majority of parents out there are not 'loving every minute'. But that by no means means we don't totally love being parents.





There are a million different types of parents out there, but whichever way you choose to parent there is one thing we all have in common: it’s tough. Don't get me wrong, I adore being a parent, it has shown me a level of happiness I never knew existed. It is full of incredible, beautiful and rewarding moments that I wouldn't trade for the world. It is a wonderful gift not to be taken for granted. But that doesn't mean it isn’t hard – testing your boundaries daily and pushing you to your absolute limits. So rest assured, if you're having a tough day, you are not alone. Every parent out there, at times, is struggling too. Even the ones that look like they've totally got their shit together, the ones who's perfect child (out in public) makes yours look like a feral beast, the ones who have managed to implement the perfect routine who's life seems to work like clockwork, the ones with immaculate hair and makeup, the ones that have stopped brushing their hair altogether, the ones with the most gentle approach to parenting, the baby wearers, the bottle feeders, the stay at home mum, the work at home mum, the ones who have gone back to work full time... I have met all of the above and I can tell you all of them, at points, totally lose their shit!





My experience of parenting is that it makes every single thing in your life just that much harder, but at the same time more magical and rewarding than ever before. Something as simple as a trip to the shop to pick up some milk. Pre-kids, a real non event. Now there's two other people to get ready, shoes on, load them up drag them out. One might decide they don't want to go, the other decides that the second you walk out the door is the perfect time for an explosive dump! Getting out of the front door has now taken twice as long as the entire trip pre-kids, where once you'd already be back home sipping tea, you're now arguing with a toddler with poo smeared up your arm considering whether to give up on the milk and just give the toddler bread and butter for breakfast again! But then something magical happens, maybe its the baby giving you a big old smile, the toddler helping with the shopping or kindly greeting a stranger, and you realise 'yes, this is hard, but I wouldn't have it any other way'. Obviously it lasts mere seconds before the carnage is once again resumed, but in that split second it all seems worth it.

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