I was playing in the sandbox with Boy #4 when Boy #3 looked at me and asked, “What would you be doing right now if you didn’t have kids?”
I shrugged. “Probably have lunch or working at my computer.”
He nodded. “So your life would be more boring?”
“Exactly,” I said. “Exactly.”
There’s been much talk on the Internet lately about parenting and happiness, much of it triggered by a New York article titled, “All Joy and No Fun.” As the article states — and as every single honest parent will tell you — parenting is frequently messy and not much fun. I love my children to death, as they say, but they drive me crazy every single day. You think I like trying to teach four young boys how to sit at a table?
And yet…
As frustrating and exhausting as parenting can be — and as good as a quiet lunch and time to work sounds, especially in the middle of a hectic day — I wouldn’t change my life, because my kids have changed me.
Let that sink in for awhile. Then click over and read author Jennifer Lawler’s extremely moving blog post, For Jessica. If you can, come back here and tell me what you think.
3 Responses
I wouldn’t change a thing. My life would have no purpose without my boys. Really. I enjoyed reading For Jessica, very moving.
My life would have purpose without boys, but I think it would be very different. And I’m not sure I would have grown nearly as much. As a mom, my weaknesses are magnified 1000X; I see what I am doing wrong through my boys’ actions. So to be an effective mother, I must work on myself.
My boys have also given me the impetus and courage to investigate and question the status quo, to begin to make choices that truly reflect my values.
I think parenting is so much more than simply raising kids. It’s a life lesson for who we are. I haven’t read Jessica’s post yet, but shall move on over.