What Has Parenting Taught You?
For the longest time from teen years to early 20’s I was positive I was not going to get married and I was not going to have children. It was something that I just knew was true. Why? I don’t know. Some of it was an insecurity that no one would want to marry me. Funny, what you knew to be true in fact was not. I did find a great woman and after seeing each other on and off for 2 years we got married. However, from day one when I met her I said no kids. I was firm on this even though I knew how much she really wanted to have kids. I pulled the “you knew this” card whenever it came up.
Well the universe had other ideas. One day after 5 ½ years of marriage pregnancy came. It was a surprise. Now I had a dilemma. What was I going to do? My wife was adamant that she was having this baby whether I stayed or not. I did stay, and we had a beautiful baby girl.
I did not read any books on parenting. I just did what I felt was right. Did I make mistakes? Not sure. We only had one child, so it was easy for each of us to get a break. Of course, in reality the mother shoulders most of the child rearing. This is especially true for a military wife. I was gone a lot for the “terrible twos.”
I had to learn patience. I had to learn that little girls are different than little boys. I had to learn that she was hearing school topics for the first time and that she might not just “get it” and thus I should not get mad if I thought something was “easy.”
The most important thing I learned was how much she taught me about unconditional love and trust. For someone who never wanted children, it was the best thing that has happened in my life.
Happy 30thBirthday Ariel. I love you and am so proud to be your Dad.
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