So, today my daughter, Izzy, turned 11 weeks old. I thought it fitting for me to publish my first blog post today. But before I get into my story, I feel I have some explaining to do…
To many the title of my blog and this post may seem harsh, bitter, almost blasphemous. And I want to assure you this blog is not intended to offend or undermine the miracle that is children and the joy a parent receives throughout that child’s life.
However, there is two sides to every story, and I think it is safe to say that bringing a child into this world and raising it to be a decent human being is not always roses and unicorns. Some days are horrific, especially in the beginning, and on those days any parent who says they do not think at least one of these thoughts: “I wish I could run away.”; “This suxs!”; “Why on earth did I do this to myself.” – or my personal favourite – “FML”; is lying to you and themselves.
I started this blog to not only vent my own feelings, but show what I have discovered as the flip side of the coin of parenting. No-one can prepare you for how hard it is. It is the hardest thing you will ever do because there is no training for it, there’s no manual to learn, no guru to rely on, no wikihow, no right or wrong answer because there is no definitive answer for anything. Why? Because every single one of our journeys and experiences are unique, every baby/child is unique, so what worked for one won’t necessarily work for another. And to make it even harder what worked for you on Monday might not work again on Tuesday.
This constant state of flux and constant trial and error means that being a parent is not always fun, because nobody really likes to be tested everyday of their lives without the opportunity to study the course material and be confident they know if not all, at least 80% of the answers.
What I have learnt over the past 11 weeks is that no-one has all the answers, most don’t even have 20% of the answers. Everyone (even the mom who looks like she has her shit together) is doing this parenting thing through trial and error, experimentation, gut instinct and a whole lot of contradictory advice from multiple sources.
If any of this sounds familiar, take comfort in knowing you are not the only one out there who feels this way. There are more of us out there than are willing to let on, but not having all the answers doesn’t make you a bad mom. Because a good, no a great, mom is the one that, despite not knowing the answers, never gives up trying to ace the tests that each day of being a mom will throw at you.
