By Shilpi Ohri
Parenting is the easiest thing I think No parent has ever said that. Believe me its a tuffest job on the earth. Only a ‘STAY AT HOME MUM’ can tell you what Parenting is exactly, And that too without a helper or a maid.
Let no one ever tell you that parenting is not the scariest, yet most supremely satisfying gig you will ever have in your life!
We all adapt to parenting in our different styles, but once we become parents we are all just on tenterhooks, looking around and thinking-what happens next? It’s a series of trial and error from the moment a baby is brought home from the hospital.
There are so many questions playing in the minds of young parents- why is my baby crying, has my baby had enough to eat, is his or her tummy full, maybe he/she has gas? Or colic? When will he/she sleep?
WHY IS HE/SHE NOT SLEEPING?
Then you move onto the next phase of your baby’s journey into toddler hood and think-Oh no, what went into his mouth now? Oh My God! she just bumped her head! Baby please don’t touch that. Noooo…don’t eat that. In between all these there are laughs, tickles, giggles and miles of smiles.
Every parent, in the first few months of parenting, goes through a phase of lying in bed and thinking- Do I even have a clue of what I am doing? Well yes, you do. There’s no one better to raise your child than you, and you’re doing a great job!
Time does start flying very soon. Days into months and months into years, you have very little idea as to where the year went by. In my own experience, from the slow and leisurely times spent with my kids in their first year to the whirlwind that was their second year, time has flown by at a pace that has surprised me to the core!
All moms who have embraced motherhood much before me and are now parenting teenagers warn me that teenage years are the most difficult, most trying years that they have ever faced till this point. And yes, I believe them wholeheartedly.
My kids are big on cuddles and kisses, and I love that as a mommy. They want hugs and kisses and snuggle time when we read stories. They want to tell me in their baby gibberish all they did from the time they woke up till they hit the bed. They want me to know everything about them, their friends, their favourite food, and their mannerisms. I can keep track of them ALL THE TIME.
The very thought of me not knowing where they are and wondering who they are with is terrifying. I sometimes catch my kids flipping through their picture books and making art out of play dough and wonder, why can’t it be like this forever? Why do things have to change? I want to stay in this little bubble forever, is it possible?
No, of course it’s NOT- that screaming voice of reality jolts me hard. The reality is that I have to let them go out in the world by themselves. The reality is that I have to let them find themselves, turn into the individuals they WANT to be.
The reality is that I have to allow them to try things on their own from now.
I know that change is inevitable, and the distance between me and my kids will change with each passing year. I just hope that it happens at a pace that we are all comfortable with, not too soon for me and not too late for them.
Me and my husband are determined to raise our two kids into a good human being who will take the best decisions that will make the world a better place. We will try our best to raise our kids who treat everyone they meet with love and respect. We will try our level best to be the best parents.
Days may be long now but the years….the years will pass by in a blink. Parenting is not easy. But then. No one ever said it would be.
Thanks for reading!
