Aug 8, 2013

Being a Parent

Motherhood is a choice you make everyday to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own to teach the hard lessons to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is... and to forgive yourself over and over again for doing everything wrong.
Being a parent means putting your selfish wants behind you and sacrificing everything you love for your child! A parent means praying your children will grow, while wishing they could stay little forever. Part of being a parent means keeping a smile on your face regardless of how much you may be falling apart inside. 
Regardless of how fantabulous you are at child-rearing, every mother, single or not, worries about their children. Am I raising them right? Am I teaching them the things they need to know to do well in the world? Am I a good mom? Do not ask that your kids live up to your expectations.  Let your kids be who they are, and your expectations will be in breathless pursuit. If you think that being a great parent requires a limitless amount of patience, you are wrong. You need more than that. Raising a family is difficult enough. But it's even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don't need more obstacles. They need more opportunities. Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy. Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.  
They need your presence far more than any gifts you might buy for them. Children need quality time. You have to avail yourself to them as much as possible. 
I know its hard being a single mother but I'd rather do it by myself than with someone who doesn't want to. Our attitude towards what has happened to us in life is the important thing to recognize. Once hopeless, my life is now hope-full, but it did not happen overnight. The last of human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, is to choose one's own way. 
Remember to pray always and seek the guidance of God who so loves you and your precious children. Note that before God you and your children are the apple of His eyes.
My promise to my Kids: I am not your friend. I am your Mother. I will stalk you, flip out on you, lecture you, drive you insane, be your worst nightmare & hunt you down like a bloodhound when needed because I LOVE YOU! When you understand that, I will know you are a responsible adult. You will never find someone who loves, prays, cares and worries about you more than I do!
"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6