All of the Above

     The conversation went something like this:  
School Principle:  Mrs. Murphy, we have a problem.
Mother:  Oh, what is it?
School Principle:  Ruth got one of the highest scores ever on the SAT test.
Mother:  We do have a problem.

     I remember well, taking that test.  Especially when it came to the math section.  I would scrawl out equations on scrap paper, usually having no idea what I was doing, and if the answer looked anything remotely close to the answers to choose from, that was the answer I picked.  If there was ever a choice of  'all of the above', I took that one, hands down.

     Parenting is a lot like taking a test.  

     It is always amusing to watch brand new parents.  They know better than anyone on the planet how to take care of their child.  It always makes me wonder how the rest of us ever made it this far.

     A lot of parents start out with the mind set that they will do things much differently than their parents did, they will do it much better.  They read articles on how to do this, or how to do that.  They are told things like, never lay a baby on its back when sleeping.  Now, they must never lay a baby on its tummy...it is truly amazing my children survived their first year.

     Parenting is a lot of give and little take.  It is a job with no pay, but huge benefits.  It is filled with tremendous joy and much weeping.  Parenting can make one feel like pulling out their hair one moment, and being filled with pride the next.

     As the children grow and come to the realization that they are not actually physically connected to their parents, they begin to explore life on their own.  This has been going on for centuries, and will continue to do so.  As they branch out, they go through many trials and errors and as parents, we watch and learn right along with them.

     Many times, parents go through times of feeling like complete failures.  This too, is normal.  There comes a time when most children feel like their parents do not know anything.  During this period, the word gratitude is not in their vocabulary.  Young children rarely see their parents as real people or understand that Mom and Dad really do have a life.  If in doubt on this, dance down the aisle of Wal-Mart and watch them scatter like rats leaving a sinking ship.  Sometimes a child must reach many years into adulthood before they realize their parents had a purpose beyond parenting.

     A book I finished recently made a profound statement.  It said that we choose the life we live before making an entrance into the material world we call life on earth.  We choose what we want to do, what we want to accomplish and we choose the parents we want to raise us.   With that in mind, as parents, we must keep on fighting the good fight and remember too, we chose to do this....even though there are times we wonder, what in the world were we thinking.

     Their is no golden handbook, or written test to take, when it comes to raising children.  But, if there was and the multiple choice answers look like: 
A. Love
B. Failure
C. Can't do this anymore
D. Endless joy
E.  All of the above

Choose E.