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OpinionSUNDAY NIGHT: On being a parentSunday Night by MaryHelen Swanson, editor I can hear the crying and picture the toddler half-frozen, his feet on fire from severe frostbite. And my heart aches. Without knowing all the facts, I canít pass judgement, but I shudder if the words the parents said were true- they were sleeping and thought an older sibling was watching the tot. Older as in what, a year or two? Or 10? It makes a big difference. What we must forever remember is that parenting is a full-time job. Never let anyone tell you that it is anything less. From the moment of that first trip to the maternity ward to the day they die, your children are your children. And especially for that first 18 years, that means you are responsible for them. Children mean sleepless nights and disgusting cleanup jobs from diapers to vomit. Children need watching, holding, loving, nurturing, educating and role models that will help them become great parents too. Let me stress that again, children need watching. I know how tired a parent can get, I donít think I slept through the night for the first 10-15 years of my married life. If a baby cried, I woke up. If she didnít, I woke up because I thought something was wrong. I was so extremely tired many days and wondered if I would ever be able to get a good nightís sleep again. Everyone urges toddlers to learn to walk without realizing that when they do there will be much greater responsibility in making sure the child is safe as he or she runs around your home. Itís cute when they learn to climb out of the crib, but that means youíll have to be on the alert for wandering cherubs, in the night when everyone else is sleeping and in the day when the youngster is supposed to be napping. It doesnít get better when they get older, Between the missing front teeth and the braces theyíll try your patience with their constant exploring and endless questions. Soon they are teens and that means sleepless nights again as you wait up for them. And yes, it really is a good idea to wait up for your children, even at 17. You will have to let go of them one day, but that doesnít mean they stop being your children or that you stop caring about them. It means their problems become more difficult and you will not be able to help them. It means when you hear about the accidents along the routes they take to school or work each morning you pray that it wasnít your child in that rollover. And then you pray anyway because it was someone elseís child. It means that when they lose a job, get divorced, or fail at new adventures, your heart will ache for them, but you are not allowed to let it show. Iíve been there. I know the pain. I asked God to take away her pain so she could do her studies and her job. With that prayer said, I felt the pain in my own head. I hope she felt relief. If she did, my prayers were answered. Thatís what parenting is about. ©ECM Post Review |