Raising children is painful. Not just because it is exhausting, but because it is a relentless game of confrontation with the self. You are terrified of over-parenting, under-parenting, misreading the signs. You worry they will inherit your flaws, failures, inadequacies, wounds, your anxieties, the parts of you youβre still working through.
It doesnβt help that parenting has become a public performance. Other parents watching, judging, diagnosing from a distance with no appreciation of the anguish you suffer in silence. The quiet prayers. The nights you lie awake replaying a conversation or a look your child gave you. The deep desire not just to raise a sensible, kind, responsible child but to not mess them up.
Parenting is painful. And still, we do it. Every day. Because thatβs what it is all about. No less or no more. We do it because our children deserve it.
Iβm sending my love to all parents who are doing their very best and paying the much needed love, affection and attention to their children. May God bless you.