When you're raising children, it feels at times that I blink and these kids get older. On Wednesday, my oldest starts kindergarten. It very much feels like it wasn't that long ago that she was still wearing her premie sleeper with little frog feet. The memory of holding her for the first time is still fresh in my mind. Now she begins a new stage of growing up.
I know I'm still a young father with young kids, but I think there will always be a selfish side of me that always wants them to stay little. There is so much in the world that I don't want them to ever have to experience. Life can be quite cruel at times, and it will come at them in many forms. They will be tried and tested in ways that I probably won't understand, and that scares me, but what scares me more is that I can't shield it from them. I can't protect them forever.
I don't want to blink.
I guess what I always need to remember that even though they will have trials to endure, there will come sweet and wonderful moments that will bring them happiness and joy, and I would be a terrible father indeed if I shielded them from those experiences. I would bet that this is the hardest challenge of any parent. Allowing them to experience moments of hardship so they can not only experience the joy of life, but to appreciate it as well.
What's so great about being a dad? Giving your children the tools they need to endure the hard times and appreciate the good times. Thanks for reading.
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