This whole parenting thing is like a never-ending game of tag.
At least that's the way it works at our house.
At any given time, one of us is stronger than the other.
At any given time, one kid is needier than the other.
Tag!
My husband travels for work. Early on, it was typically only North America, so that meant he'd be gone for any number of days during the week, but we usually had weekends together. As the job evolved, so did the travel. Now his international responsibilities require him to be gone for longer chunks of time.
Is it ideal? Nope. But my mom always taught me that you have to take what life gives you, be grateful for it, and figure out how to make it work.
I'm not going to pretend that I don't have a pity-party every now and again about having to do it "alone", but I always pull up my big girl panties and move forward. My husband has a job. He's not military, so he's not gone for very long comparatively, and he's relatively safe day to day. Besides, now we have Facetime and dad can pull out his can of Whoop via video chat if needed. So regardless if I feel alone, I'm not. It's just my turn to be tagged.
I'm it.
I try with all my might to handle things while he's gone and not dump on him when he gets back. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
When he comes home I want to tag and run, but he needs a minute to be able to be a good dad. I want him to be a good dad, so I refrain from tagging so quickly.
This may be hard to believe, because I seem to have it all together (insert eye roll), but there are times when I am flipping losing my mind up in here! [bonus points if you recognize the 90's song reference] There may have been a phone call to the hubs referring to the fact that this family was going to have one less person in it by the end of the day. 'It's me or him, babe. Me or him!' He laughs and then comes home and is able to diffuse the situation. He is the voice of reason.
And just like that - Tag! He's it.
My kids, gratefully, tag in and out, too. When one is consuming our energy, the other seems to lay low (perhaps just to steer clear of the crazy), then before you know it TAG! they've switched it out. Now the other one is all needy...
We can't catch a break!
Sometimes parenting is like standing in the ocean.
Looking out it is beautiful. Bright blue skies, deep blue sea, smooth sand. It fills your soul. But up close, it's not as glam. Standing in the waves takes strength. One minute they are crashing against you, and the next they are dragging you under. The sun will burn your skin if you're not careful, and the sand gets everywhere!
Parenting is like that. We can get caught up in the crashing and pulling, the intense heat and scratchy sand... But we must take a step back and enjoy it's beauty and recognize how completely it fills our soul.
Every now and again, we just need to tag out so that we can truly appreciate the beauty of parenting.
At least that's the way it works at our house.
At any given time, one of us is stronger than the other.
At any given time, one kid is needier than the other.
Tag!
My husband travels for work. Early on, it was typically only North America, so that meant he'd be gone for any number of days during the week, but we usually had weekends together. As the job evolved, so did the travel. Now his international responsibilities require him to be gone for longer chunks of time.
Is it ideal? Nope. But my mom always taught me that you have to take what life gives you, be grateful for it, and figure out how to make it work.
I'm not going to pretend that I don't have a pity-party every now and again about having to do it "alone", but I always pull up my big girl panties and move forward. My husband has a job. He's not military, so he's not gone for very long comparatively, and he's relatively safe day to day. Besides, now we have Facetime and dad can pull out his can of Whoop via video chat if needed. So regardless if I feel alone, I'm not. It's just my turn to be tagged.
I'm it.
I try with all my might to handle things while he's gone and not dump on him when he gets back. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
When he comes home I want to tag and run, but he needs a minute to be able to be a good dad. I want him to be a good dad, so I refrain from tagging so quickly.
This may be hard to believe, because I seem to have it all together (insert eye roll), but there are times when I am flipping losing my mind up in here! [bonus points if you recognize the 90's song reference] There may have been a phone call to the hubs referring to the fact that this family was going to have one less person in it by the end of the day. 'It's me or him, babe. Me or him!' He laughs and then comes home and is able to diffuse the situation. He is the voice of reason.
And just like that - Tag! He's it.
My kids, gratefully, tag in and out, too. When one is consuming our energy, the other seems to lay low (perhaps just to steer clear of the crazy), then before you know it TAG! they've switched it out. Now the other one is all needy...
We can't catch a break!
Sometimes parenting is like standing in the ocean.
Looking out it is beautiful. Bright blue skies, deep blue sea, smooth sand. It fills your soul. But up close, it's not as glam. Standing in the waves takes strength. One minute they are crashing against you, and the next they are dragging you under. The sun will burn your skin if you're not careful, and the sand gets everywhere!
Parenting is like that. We can get caught up in the crashing and pulling, the intense heat and scratchy sand... But we must take a step back and enjoy it's beauty and recognize how completely it fills our soul.
Every now and again, we just need to tag out so that we can truly appreciate the beauty of parenting.