There are some things that you just cannot possibly understand until they happen to you. My mother used to say to me, "Wait until you have kids" and I would just roll my eyes at her because how different can it possibly be? I mean, I knew love before I was a parent, I knew what kids were like before I had them (or so I thought). I thought that she was exaggerating or playing the martyr. Turns out she wasn't and that she knew exactly what she was talking about. No matter how much advice someone gives you or how much you read about it or how prepared you think you are to be a parent many things will come as a surprise.
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Here are six surprises that come with being a parent that no one could have prepared you for:
- There is no time off. None, no breaks, no vacations, no end to it. Even if someone else is watching your children, you are still on call. There is always a part of you, even when you are sleeping, that is watching your kids.
- It's super gross and you will laugh about it. You will find yourself covered in puke, poop, boogers, and already been chewed on food. It will be gross, you will deal with it, and later you will laugh about it.
- You will become a superhero. All those things you don't have the courage to do for yourself, you will do for your child. You will stand up to bullies, you will put yourself in danger, you will brave whatever is necessary to do right by your child.
- You will feel like you are not good enough. No matter how good you are, no matter how well you are doing, you will never be perfect and you will wish you were perfect because your kids deserve perfect.
- You will be overwhelmed by the weight of love. Sure you knew you would love your kids, but you had no idea how much they would love you. No one will ever look at you with as much love as your little child. You will look into eyes so full of love, you won't know what to do and you will feel a huge sense of responsibility to be worthy of that love.
- Time will play tricks on you. The days will seem so long sometimes, full of chores and mundane details, you will focus on what needs to be done and who needs to be taken care of, sometimes you will rush things, then you will look up and days, months, years have passed and you will wonder where all the time went and marvel that your kids are no longer babies.
Aww man, parenting is one of the most challenging and amazing experiences in life and really not something that can be fully grasped until you live it. So live it!
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