Parenting

My mom bag purse has been packed with an ever evolving laundry list of "necessities" since the moment I felt like I could ditch the diaper bag. Now I'm sure you've heard to never go through a lady's purse, but it's okay! True to my organized nature, I'll unpack my bag for you pocket by pocket to keep it neat and tidy!

Moms are a tough breed, but our brains begin to tweak just a bit when we encounter a little too much of any one aforementioned item. Finally, an outside irritant, typically an unsuspecting person, pulls the pin from our grenade. Kerosene is thrown on the fire. The bull is freed from the pen. The victim has taken as much as she can possibly handle, and she lashes out. MGB varies from mom to mom, as all women are gloriously different. Some merely cry; some scream profanities in their car; all reactions are relatively terrifying for those in close proximity to the victim.

I just realized that even though I'm an adult I still tell people that "I'm an only child," when asked whether or not I have siblings. Besides, the term "only adult" just doesn't sound right, so for the remainder of this post, I'll simply refer to us as "onlys." The following four words are ones that I've heard the majority of my life as pre-judgement of my character, simply because there were no other children being raised in my household. Spoiled Lonely Anti-social Selfish

As for our family, we have been subjecting our daughter to “digital heroin” for quite some time, rather guiltlessly, I must admit. We rarely go anywhere without Avery’s tablet. Yes, I said it. Avery is not yet three and has her own tablet. It is used multiple times on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. I don’t know what we’d do without it. Now, before you go writing me off as a bad mom, let me explain.

A split second later, as I turned to take those short three steps back to the bed, I heard it. A loud THUD. My heart dropped and when I had fully turned around I saw my son lying breathless with his back on the floor. He looked panicked, and my heart then shattered into a TRILLION little pieces.

I'm raising adults. Six of them, to be specific. You might object that only one of my offspring has so far reached legal adult status, but the plan is that they all will. And since kids don't magically learn how to be an adult on their 18th birthday, the preparation for adulthood starts way before then, when they're small, foolish, adorable, and dependent. Sadly, it isn't as common for parents in my generation to see things this way, and yet parents are more stressed out than ever doing things our grandparents would be shocked to see. My husband and I make a lot of mistakes on this journey, and we have piled up our own parenting regrets along the way. But there are some things that are important to us as we prepare our crew for the future, things that are making a difference. While by no means exhaustive, here is the backbone of our strategy . . .

There are seasons when the work/motherhood balance is not just demanding; it’s, frankly, delusional. Juggling meetings, schedules, babysitters, and to-do lists can leave me feeling more like a manager than a mother. Who has which homework due tomorrow? Who has which extra-curricular activity this week? Not to mention the challenge of quality time with my spouse. Trying to stay on top of all the responsibilities and enjoyment of family life can seem impossible.