Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Pros and Cons of Parenthood

Sometimes, it's hard to be a parent...

... When it's 2am (after you finally fell asleep around 1am because your mind just won't shut off) and there comes a loud, hysterical cry from the other room from your child... So you jump out of bed and race into the room to discover your child's face covered in blood: its pouring out of her nose and coating her hands. This time, she's rubbed it into her sleepy eyes, causing them to sting as she jumps around trying to wake up from her dream. Once again, she's got a gushing bloody nose - just like her father's had his whole life.

... When you finally get her cleaned and know that it could take (and this time, will take) over a 1/2 hour to stop - even with ice and pressure. When you get her changed and the bed cleaned up, you know it will take time to convince her to fall asleep. So you get her some orange juice to rinse the metallic blood taste from her mouth. And you lay down on her bed, rubbing her back for a long time until she finally drops from exhaustion, snuggling into the side of you.

... Then you go back to your room but you still jump everytime she rolls over, knowing it could the re-start of the nose bleed. Finally, you give up on sleep and get up several hours early just because it seems pointless to keep trying to fall asleep. So you turn on the light and grab a book. When you finally come out of your room to start your morning routine, you notice she is sitting up on her bed. So, you go into to tell her it's not time to wake up and she looks at you and says,
"Mom, I love you!"
before settling back down onto her pillow and falling promptly asleep.

She might not remember last night and all it's activity but with that one little phrase, you know that the lack of sleep is worth it. Once again, you were Supermom in your child's eyes, swooping in and saving the day (or rather the night!) from the evil forces. You were able to be there for your child and know that with your help, every thing came out all right. It might have only been a nose bleed to you, but to her, it was everything she couldn't control and didn't understand.

And you are once again reminded that even the cons pale when presented with the overwhelming pros of parenthood.

1 comment:

Stacy said...

You're such a great mom...Annde is so lucky to have you! :-)