I find again and again that Resourcefulness is a must have in parenting, otherwise there will surely come a point that not All parts of you will come back from, if you know what I mean. Situations are constantly coming up that call for compromise and alternate plans, a, b, c, d, e, and on.
It may sound funny to the uninitiated, however to veterans of the child-rearing trade, you know the truth of which I speak.
As parents, we can no longer run 'willy nilly' around town whenever (after work), wherever, and however we want. As 'adults' we used to yearn for the hour that we 'punched out'. We couldn't wait to get out of there (wherever 'there' was) and be on our 'Own Time'. We then Relaxed if we wanted to relax. We didn't talk if we didn't want to. We stood up when we wanted. We sat down when we wanted. We even went to the bathroom when we wanted! How special. I Know that Now.... Oh good. Well, at least I know now..right?Haha.
Someone,..I don't know who,..came along and threw away that 'time card' and said in the echoes of my mind in a voice that sounded like They knew something, "You! Yes, I am talking to you. You are heretofore never 'Punching Out' Ever Again. Don't Worry about It. (pause)You'll get used to it.(extra long pause) It will feel better (pause X 3) Later. ...Oh yes...Whatever you do Don't Dwell On It..." I then heard their wingtips tapping and clicking on the concrete floor of my mind as they walked off from whence they had come,...I listened.......'Sschwam'. They closed the door and were gone. That was three years ago and here we are.
If you were to, tell any two decent, reasonably sane people that there will come a time in their life after which their life will not be theirs, they will never be 'punching out' so to speak, ever again, and that really all they will be getting is occasional 'breaks'(sort of)--because you are never Really off 'the clock', what do you think their reply would be? "Why don't you go take a long walk off a short pier?", to put it mildly.
As a parent, Resourcefulness is a Survival skill without which you will not make it to next Thursday. If you thought as a single, unencumbered 'adult' that you excelled in the department of deterity and versatility in the ever present 'Now', and you are now embarking on Parenthood, you will get to revisit the truth of that with a persistence and fervor that will make your head spin. If you are 'hard', you will become 'soft'. If you are rigid, you will become flexible or you will crack. If your reality is laid out in a highly refined, scheduled routine that you are 'in charge' of, how will you cope when that is no more, and the 'ground' that you are used to building schedules upon is in constant flux with numerous variables? If crying has never been in your game plan (as a man), you may consider it acceptable now. It's easier that way; it will come anyhow. It's all for the good.
After all that you're no doubt going "Oooo...Nnnnn...Ooowww...Why would I want to do that"? Well, for myself, I have to say that I would never have chosen the super challenging nature of this job had I really known what it entailed before begining it, but that's also the beauty of it--that no one really knows ahead of time. Maybe that's part of the Divine Design. If I had, it would've been without the real life context of it all and my decision would not have been balanced. The Irony of this is that now that I am discovering by living it, I wouldn't change a thing. Go figure.
If you're going to have a child, 'resourcefulness' will be your new best friend on your way to growing up.
It may sound funny to the uninitiated, however to veterans of the child-rearing trade, you know the truth of which I speak.
As parents, we can no longer run 'willy nilly' around town whenever (after work), wherever, and however we want. As 'adults' we used to yearn for the hour that we 'punched out'. We couldn't wait to get out of there (wherever 'there' was) and be on our 'Own Time'. We then Relaxed if we wanted to relax. We didn't talk if we didn't want to. We stood up when we wanted. We sat down when we wanted. We even went to the bathroom when we wanted! How special. I Know that Now.... Oh good. Well, at least I know now..right?Haha.
Someone,..I don't know who,..came along and threw away that 'time card' and said in the echoes of my mind in a voice that sounded like They knew something, "You! Yes, I am talking to you. You are heretofore never 'Punching Out' Ever Again. Don't Worry about It. (pause)You'll get used to it.(extra long pause) It will feel better (pause X 3) Later. ...Oh yes...Whatever you do Don't Dwell On It..." I then heard their wingtips tapping and clicking on the concrete floor of my mind as they walked off from whence they had come,...I listened.......'Sschwam'. They closed the door and were gone. That was three years ago and here we are.
If you were to, tell any two decent, reasonably sane people that there will come a time in their life after which their life will not be theirs, they will never be 'punching out' so to speak, ever again, and that really all they will be getting is occasional 'breaks'(sort of)--because you are never Really off 'the clock', what do you think their reply would be? "Why don't you go take a long walk off a short pier?", to put it mildly.
As a parent, Resourcefulness is a Survival skill without which you will not make it to next Thursday. If you thought as a single, unencumbered 'adult' that you excelled in the department of deterity and versatility in the ever present 'Now', and you are now embarking on Parenthood, you will get to revisit the truth of that with a persistence and fervor that will make your head spin. If you are 'hard', you will become 'soft'. If you are rigid, you will become flexible or you will crack. If your reality is laid out in a highly refined, scheduled routine that you are 'in charge' of, how will you cope when that is no more, and the 'ground' that you are used to building schedules upon is in constant flux with numerous variables? If crying has never been in your game plan (as a man), you may consider it acceptable now. It's easier that way; it will come anyhow. It's all for the good.
After all that you're no doubt going "Oooo...Nnnnn...Ooowww...Why would I want to do that"? Well, for myself, I have to say that I would never have chosen the super challenging nature of this job had I really known what it entailed before begining it, but that's also the beauty of it--that no one really knows ahead of time. Maybe that's part of the Divine Design. If I had, it would've been without the real life context of it all and my decision would not have been balanced. The Irony of this is that now that I am discovering by living it, I wouldn't change a thing. Go figure.
If you're going to have a child, 'resourcefulness' will be your new best friend on your way to growing up.