In life, out of necessity, we have divided up our time and energy into compartments. All day long we are at work and our time is not our own. We are doing things for the company who is paying for the job whether that be at home, on the job site, in an office, or wherever. We look forward to going home and being a part of familial tasks perhaps, or eating and hanging out with friends if perhaps we are single or without children. However involved or not our lives are we all look forward to the time of day when our time is 'our own'--to that time when we can do what we want, as we want and how we want.
There is no time in life however, that is Not about Giving and Receiving. The principles of that energetic exchange are Always there and are Always Active even when it is supposed to be 'Your' time, 'My' time, 'His' time, or 'Her' time. Love and sharing never take a 'break'. It makes sense that they don't, for what would life be without them, but empty, hollow experiences?
When you are raising a youngster you get to revisit many things. Each one of them is 'new' again for you in it's own time of emergence. 'Me' and 'mine' is a big one, and I suppose very vibrant and colorful in the personalities of young children because it is so fresh and raw. When there's dissapointment or hurt feelings they are So vibrant in their expression that it is almost shocking to a degree. When they are overjoyed, or gigling effusively, it Fills the house. To teach a young child about sharing and the Real needs of the others around them is actually a little mini-course in your own psychology. It is a re-visitation, in your own living room, as to the ways and predilections of human nature. It is a raw version of yourself without the mores and customs of society.
As a parent it is your job to hone and shape the directional flow of that process of learning to the best of your ability. It is times such as these that you see your frailty as a 'grown up'. There is a required course in this Curriculum of Parenting called Real Humility and you would be hard pressed to miss the door to this classroom because every time you turn around you're saying, "Wow! Here it is Again"! So, I say to you, "Go ahead.... go through it. Have a seat at a desk, and Stay There!" You see, your hypocrisy is unavoidable; the faster you learn this the better. Your child shows you this by Divine Design; they know nothing of it. One hears the slogan often given to first time Fathers, "Congratulations, He/She will make a Man out of you". The meaning of that slogan is starting to have actual, real, palpable significance for me. Anyone can be an adult, but a child....a child will inspire and fuel your 'growing up'.
Being a father is beautiful, for you must tune in to the true feeling nature of the human spirit. Sure, of course you would wish to pull your hair out by it's roots sometimes, if it were not so painful to do so, but that is part of the package--'growing pains', an 'upgrade' if you will, of your Own Being.
I Love being a Father and I have no doubt that I will be a better man, a better human being, more rounded and developed than I ever could have been otherwise.......Because of it.