Parenting?

Parenting is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I have done some pretty hard things in my day. Being responsible for another life is quite daunting. It's more than can be written in a book or passed on from mom to daughter. Mix into that daunting pot, "challenging" children. Ones that don't "fit the mold", not one, but all 3 and now things get even more interesting. Parenting really takes on a life of it's own in the house. Try as I may, it becomes impossible to integrate parenting and living together into one working organism.

I remember back when I was in one of those parenting classes before I was an actual parent. A man asked the following question (need I mention that MOST questions are not stupid)

The man: "When will my wife have the baby?"

The instructor: "After she dilates to 10 cm and is totally effaced...... blah blah blah."

The man: "No, When is she going to go into labor. I just need to know, I'd like to plan."

Wouldn't we all. Even at that early stage of parenting I knew that was too much to ask for, but I tell ya, I fear some genetics were never meant to be mixed. Rick and mine, NOT A GOOD COMBO! Still, I know how the man felt. Even though I knew that that was a question that could not be answered, of course, I wanted an answer.

I feel like the older my kids get, the more unanswerable questions come up. When their tears and the yelling come, and mine as well, which is daily here, I have to take it as the day has presented it to me. Some days I can handle others, not so much.

Take this morning, please :-) Over a 45 minute period the following things happened:

3 up and "awake"

3 need to be fed

2 need clothes found

2 need constant hounding to get dressed

2 inform me that it is too cold to get dressed

2 need meds

1 needs a quick hair cut

1 goes through his daily 3-4 underwear because they all feel too tight, too poky, to baggy, etc.

1 tells me his whole face hurts

1 is following me around saying he is sorry

1 is on a verge of a very serious fit

1 is still in the bathroom getting more beautiful

1 is ready to go out to the bus in a sweatshirt and a thin jacket and a cotton fashion hat, and no mittens (temp outside 9F)

1 has pulled his boot apart and is angrily trying to put it back together

1 is still in his underwear

1 needs his hair flattened but not too wet

1 needs his coat snapped

1 needs to be reminded that they should be gone already

3 leave crabby

AND I NEED A DRINK

To sum up my rant, if I can look at this from 2 different view points:

1. (Positive view) Every house looks like this in the morning

2. (Negative view) I live in a nut home

K~