Remember that day? The moment in the bathroom with the pregnancy test, or at the doctor’s office for the confirming test. The moment the adoption papers were signed. The moment you found out you were going to become a parent. It was a rush of emotions, all those feelings of excitement and joy tangled up with a few random strands of anxiety.
Occasionally you’d understand there might be hard times. But mostly you imagined the wonderful things. The smiling faces, cute clothes, tiny baby shoes, restful nap times, and hilarious play dates … all with a sunshiny background.
What. Ever. Once the child arrived, you wised up pretty fast. Reality hit. The hard times became the norm. You figured out that parenting was hard, y’all.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not complaining about being a parent. I am beyond thankful — every day — for my kids. I love that we get to be parents and watch these four once-little blessings grow into adults. But honestly, parenting turned out to be way different than I thought it would be when we started. Over at Babble, I’ve written about a few of the ways it’s tougher than I imagined. You can read it here.
