{"id":1534,"date":"2011-06-02T19:26:37","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T19:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.wordpress.com\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2011-06-02T19:26:37","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T19:26:37","slug":"the-never-ending-parent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/02\/the-never-ending-parent\/","title":{"rendered":"The Never-Ending Parent"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have noticed that Monday came and went without a list of ways to make the day magical this week.\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s been one of those weeks.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You’re on your own!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But in the meantime, I came across this tidbit that I wrote in the Magical Childhood newsletter years ago.\u00a0 It was written half to a friend who was stressed out as a mom and half as a reminder to myself.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

It helps me keep things in perspective.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Never-Ending Parent<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s hard to be a good parent.<\/span>
\n Sometimes you wonder why you’re not like others<\/span>
\n Who make themselves the priority, who are stern and unyielding<\/span>
\n Or who let everybody else take care of their kids.<\/span>
\n Sometimes you envy them their time, their space,<\/span>
\n Their full night’s sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes you start doubting yourself and wondering<\/span>
\n If you really are just crazy, being this kind of parent<\/span>
\n In this kind of world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your house is noisy and full of chaos<\/span>
\n And you wonder if it will last forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have a secret.\u00a0 If you keep this up….<\/span>
\n It will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you get up at 3 a.m. because your baby cries, think of the time<\/span>
\n When he’s a teenager and calls at 3 a.m. to say he needs a ride<\/span>
\n Instead of getting in the car with his drunk friends<\/span>
\n Because he knows he can be honest with you and that he can count on you.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you take the time to explain “why” for the hundredth time today<\/span>
\n Wondering if you will ever get a moment’s peace and quiet,<\/span>
\n Think of the days when your daughter is grown and on her own<\/span>
\n And will still call because she loves your conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you discount all the well-meaning people who tell you to let your baby cry<\/span>
\n And you go to him, hold him, comfort him anyway<\/span>
\n Think ahead to the times when he’ll be a strong, secure, independent kid<\/span>
\n And those people say “I don’t know how you were blessed with such an easy child.”<\/span><\/p>\n

When you nurse your daughter and hold her close<\/span>
\n Spoiling her with all that love and care, think of the time<\/span>
\n When you’ll overhear her tell a friend<\/span>
\n “My mom and I have always been so close.”<\/span><\/p>\n

When the house is full of noise, mess and chaos<\/span>
\n Think of the days when the kids are grown, and it will start all over<\/span>
\n With your grandchildren, because your family is so bonded<\/span>
\n That everybody still gathers at your loving home.<\/span><\/p>\n

No, if you keep this up it will never change.<\/span>
\n Your children will be in your life forever.<\/span>
\n And honey, you’ll love the noise.<\/span><\/p>\n

~ Alicia Bayer<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Happy Thursday!\u00a0 I’ll be back with some fun soon!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may have noticed that Monday came and went without a list of ways to make the day magical this week.\u00a0 It’s been one of those weeks. You’re on your own!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09 But in the meantime, I came across this tidbit that I wrote in the Magical Childhood newsletter years ago.\u00a0 It was written half…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[75,165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}