Being a parent means asking for the wing out of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Basket just because you want your family to get the best pieces.
Being a parent means watching traffic through your side mirrors and your child through the rear view mirror of your car because your afraid she'll cough on her crackers or even just bob her head to the music and you don't want to miss it.
It means getting light headed blowing up a whole house full of balloons just because it will make her smile.
It means timing everything you do around her world; what time you do errands, what time you cook dinner, make phone calls, everything.
Being a parent means going home after you just got to Walmart because you discovered she fell asleep on the way there and you don't want to ruin her nap. Shopping can wait.
Being a parent means you need to be one hundred percent okay with never watching a movie that has violence or swearing in the family room when they are awake. School will corrupt them, let's not send them in that way. It also means you need to be willing to sacrifice Grays Anatomy, Sex in the City, and all other shows you would like to watch for DVD's of Sesame Street, Dora, and Finding Nemo, to the point of memorization. Literally, if her DVD's ever got lost, I could just act out her favorite show, and you know what? If she wanted me to, I would...
Being a parent means breathing deep and trying to stay calm when you have to tell her no for her own good when she just doesn't understand why oh why she can't have oreos for dinner instead of that meal that you made.
It means it hurts you more than it hurts her when you have to put her into time out for doing something that she needs to learn is inappropriate. It means being strong enough to have a show down with toddler who is bound and determined to spite you and prove to you that "no, she will not sit on that naughty step and you can't make her." But you have to, because if your a good mom it means you are raising a child that listens and respects others. Half an hour later when she realizes that you are not joking, never were joking, and will not joke, she will sit on her naughty step for her whole 120 seconds and realize that she should have done this a long time ago, and you will realize that you aren't doing so bad after all.
It means trying really hard not to smile at the adorable green picture that she just put on the surface of your coffee table. Yes it's Crayola marker and will wipe right off, but she doesn't know they don't all wipe off and since the rule is "we only write on paper" it's back to the naughty step for another two minutes of eternity.
Being a mom parent learning to carry your purse, the diaper bag, a sippie cup, a balloon, a teddy bear (or two) a walmart bag, and a squirming two year old all at the same time. It means learning to ignore that burning feeling you have in your arms right before they feel like their going to fall off and learning to hook your fingers together and just pray you make it to the door with out dropping everything. And then your arm hurts for about three hours but if you dare try and say "no, I can't color, I have no feeling in my bicep" you will, I guarantee, have a crying and devastated daughter because all she wants to do is scribbled on paper with you.
Once you become a parent you being to see the world for what it really is, a death trap to the joy in your life and you are instantly on protective duty twenty four hours a day, seeking out a random bead or penny that your careless friend or family member allowed to become a part of "her" world.
Being a parent means developing your "oh yea, what was I doing?" skills to the utmost degree. At least seventeen times a day you will be led by a small and somewhat sticky hand to the other room where you will be a hero and rescue the stuffed bunny from behind the chair, grab the cup that is just out of reach, remove the bug that is creeping towards her, or just plain get to look at something that well, you know what, that actually is kinda neat isn't it...
Being a parent means trying not to panic when they take a ride down the stairs in a laundry basket after they saw it in the Cat in The Hat because if you stay calm they will stay calm.
Being a parent means not looking your best because when you have time to make scrambled eggs or do your hair, you will make scrambled eggs. Then the phone rings, then the juice spills, then someones at the door, then the box of cereal gets spilled, then the fish need to be feed and the kids are determined to do it themselves (and spill it, or if your really lucky, they'll get water all overt the floor and slip on it and you'll have a goose egg to deal with instead.) And then, guess what, you still forgot to do your hair.
Parenthood brings out the best in you, as you begin to realize that life is not, and never was nor will be, about you. It revolves around those who depend on you. It removes selfish tendencies and nurtures a caring attitude.
Being a parent means being able to speak up when someone is acting in a way that is detrimental to your child. It means having the courage to do what is right and not what is easy. It means not caring if someone gets mad if you ask them to please not swear and ignoring strange looks when you say "amen" (a prayer) out loud on her behalf in front of everyone in the MchDonald's play area because, well ,that's just what our family does.
Being a parent means you have to be ok with canceling plans that you have planned and looked forward all to week , simply because they get a fever or chill, or perhaps, you get them from Dad when you weren't expecting it. It means your social life does still revolve around parties, dinner dates, and going to the movies, but it is now tea parties, macaroni carpet picnics, and Surf's Up or Ratatouille featured on the living room big screen, popcorn included.
Being a parent means reading this whole list of stuff, laughing, and realizing that it's all true and you love it and wouldn't change a thing.
- burningbridges