I would imagine that the majority of parents in the world want to do a good job parenting. No doubt there are large numbers that DON'T care about doing a good job, and many that DO care, but aren't willing to put in the effort. For the most part, though, I firmly believe most parents want their children to grow up successful, smart, and better off than they were. Of course, it's not always easy to achieve these goals. Parenting is definitely hard work.
For a task so difficult, you'd think we would have more time to prepare. I got four years to prepare to graduate from college and earn a degree. I didn't graduate as valedictorian, but more along the lines of "skin-of-my-teeth-orian" Nonetheless, I made it. In many states, you can get a driver's learner's permit one year before you can get a driver's license. Lots of time to prepare for that, as well. Preparing for parenthood? Realistically.....if you're lucky....you get NINE MONTHS!! That's not a whole lot of time. During those nine months, even if you learn one thing a day that you need to know to be a parent.....that'll get you through about one week after the child arrives.
And with the arrival of the child, there's the arrival of all the worries and concerns. Will I be a good parent? Will I teach my child everything he'll need to know to make it in the world? Will I be financially prepared to provide a good education for my child? Am I spending enough time with my kids? Will my child find a good spouse when the time comes? What if my child gets hurt? The list goes on and on. I can guarantee that these and many more have all crossed my mind over the course of the last 12 years. You wonder about these things.....you ponder on these things. Then, every once in awhile, you receive some type of epiphany. (For those of you who may be reading in West Virginia, click here.) I had one of these epiphanies last week.
My youngest son (he’s 7) is learning about the Revolutionary War and the like in school right now. The other day my wife was quizzing him and they had a conversation along these lines…
Charlene: “What do we celebrate on July 4th?”
Jonathan: “Independence Day”
C: “Right….and what’s another word for Independence?”
J: “Freedom”
C: “Right….and what are we celebrating our freedom from?”
J: “The Clintons”
I was standing in the room when this happened.....just kind of minding my own business, preparing to leave for work, if I remember correctly. I could have sworn that the skies opened, and the angels began to sing. I almost dropped the glass of Coke in my hand. Did I really hear my son correctly? I had....and although we got quite a laugh out of this happening, we all knew that my son "got it". Hence one of those moments when there's that confirmation that I'm doing a good job as a parent, and my kids are gonna make it!
