Smile, it's only singing.
There are some mornings when you wake up full of zeal, with a sense of purpose and an appetite for life. Your head is clear, there's a spring in your step and everything seems do-able. The morning jobs are done in a flash, dish washer emptied, new load of washing in, pack lunches made, kids at school, the lounge is tidied of the morning frenzy at it's still only 9.30. You have a cuppa (that's a cup of tea to the non-Brits out there), write the shopping list and crack on. By lunchtime you've prepared for the evening meal, hung the clean washing and completed that days housework list. You're ready for the kids to finish school, for the wife to return from work and for whatever the evening may throw at you. By bed time you rightly chalk the day down as one of the good ones, job well done, pat on the back, house husband of the year.
There are some mornings like that, but just some. And I for one am very grateful that they are few and far between. Why, oh dear reader, would I say that? Who wouldn't want that to be "the norm"? Good questions dear reader, good questions. I'm not sure the answer will make much sense but that's fine. That fact alone sums up the joy and complexity of being a stay at home parent (I know, I used the word joy, calm down fellow house parents, let me explain).
Most of the fun parts of our existence occur when things go wrong. Don't believe me? Think about the last time you truly laughed out loud, not a snigger but a full on belly laugh. Was it because something was perfect? No. Was it a joke being told by a polished comedian? Maybe, but I bet the joke was about some mis-hap, a mis-understanding, something not quite right. I say this because it's the closest example I can think of for being a stay at home parent.
I never look back on those perfect days with any sense of accomplishment. There's a lack of purpose to a day that sails perfectly along without the need for intervention. I need the child that puts on their shirt on inside out, I long for the dash to the school gates. Have you belted out your favourite tune only to realise people were watching and worse, listening. Well that's being a parent. You try your best, you think you've got it nailed, but the reality is, you've not and you probably never will, but tomorrow is a new day and guess what? That won't be perfect either.
Most of the fun stuff, the smile on your face without realising it stuff, of being a parent comes from your children. What makes children children is their wonderful unpredictability, a sense of discovery and adventure and their ability to laugh. They don't want perfect, they probably don't know what perfect is. And importantly, they don't care. You know the unwilling listeners to your awful singing, when you've driven away, I bet they're smiling.
There are some mornings like that, but just some. And I for one am very grateful that they are few and far between. Why, oh dear reader, would I say that? Who wouldn't want that to be "the norm"? Good questions dear reader, good questions. I'm not sure the answer will make much sense but that's fine. That fact alone sums up the joy and complexity of being a stay at home parent (I know, I used the word joy, calm down fellow house parents, let me explain).
Most of the fun parts of our existence occur when things go wrong. Don't believe me? Think about the last time you truly laughed out loud, not a snigger but a full on belly laugh. Was it because something was perfect? No. Was it a joke being told by a polished comedian? Maybe, but I bet the joke was about some mis-hap, a mis-understanding, something not quite right. I say this because it's the closest example I can think of for being a stay at home parent.
I never look back on those perfect days with any sense of accomplishment. There's a lack of purpose to a day that sails perfectly along without the need for intervention. I need the child that puts on their shirt on inside out, I long for the dash to the school gates. Have you belted out your favourite tune only to realise people were watching and worse, listening. Well that's being a parent. You try your best, you think you've got it nailed, but the reality is, you've not and you probably never will, but tomorrow is a new day and guess what? That won't be perfect either.
Most of the fun stuff, the smile on your face without realising it stuff, of being a parent comes from your children. What makes children children is their wonderful unpredictability, a sense of discovery and adventure and their ability to laugh. They don't want perfect, they probably don't know what perfect is. And importantly, they don't care. You know the unwilling listeners to your awful singing, when you've driven away, I bet they're smiling.
Comments
Post a Comment