Being a parent can be exhausting

[gabosaurus]

When my husband and I adopted our daughter two years ago, I never imagined there would be a weekend like this one.
Danielle had her first formal piano recital on Friday evening. So of course we had to get the gown and shoes and all that. Trouble is, she was also entered in a fencing competition that began Saturday morning. In the Bay Area.
So I had to grab Danielle at intermission, change clothes, run to the airport, fly to San Francisco and check in at a hotel. We flew back today. So much for a relaxing weekend.
I can't believe I voluntarily signed up for this.

[Nukeman]

When my husband and I adopted our daughter two years ago, I never imagined there would be a weekend like this one.
Danielle had her first formal piano recital on Friday evening. So of course we had to get the gown and shoes and all that. Trouble is, she was also entered in a fencing competition that began Saturday morning. In the Bay Area.
So I had to grab Danielle at intermission, change clothes, run to the airport, fly to San Francisco and check in at a hotel. We flew back today. So much for a relaxing weekend.
I can't believe I voluntarily signed up for this.

Try having 4 and each in a seperate sport, plus piano, plus cub scouts, plus drivers ed, plus marching band, plus........etc.......etc.....

I could go on for ever I swear, I would say though I wouldn't trade it for anything. Kids are what make the world worth living in!!!!!!!!

[KarlMarx]

When my husband and I adopted our daughter two years ago, I never imagined there would be a weekend like this one.
Danielle had her first formal piano recital on Friday evening. So of course we had to get the gown and shoes and all that. Trouble is, she was also entered in a fencing competition that began Saturday morning. In the Bay Area.
So I had to grab Danielle at intermission, change clothes, run to the airport, fly to San Francisco and check in at a hotel. We flew back today. So much for a relaxing weekend.
I can't believe I voluntarily signed up for this.

A priest, a minister, and a rabbi were having a discussion about when life began...

The priest said.. "Life begins at conception!"

The minister said... "You're wrong! Life begins at birth!"

The rabbi said... "No, you're both wrong, life begins when your youngest one moves away to college!"

[Abbey Marie]

Gabby, the most exhausting thing about parenting is the worrying. Particularly with a girl. When your daughter is older and starts going out at night, etc., you will know what I mean.

[SassyLady]

Gabby, the most exhausting thing about parenting is the worrying. Particularly with a girl. When your daughter is older and starts going out at night, etc., you will know what I mean.

Amen to that!!

And then they have children and you no longer just have your own children to worry about .... now you have grandchildren you worry about. It's a never ending cycle of love, pride, worry, hurt, anger, excitement, etc.!!! Welcome to the wold of parenting.

Does it make you appreciate your own parents even more for what they went through raising you?

[Abbey Marie]

Amen to that!!

And then they have children and you no longer just have your own children to worry about .... now you have grandchildren you worry about. It's a never ending cycle of love, pride, worry, hurt, anger, excitement, etc.!!! Welcome to the wold of parenting.

Does it make you appreciate your own parents even more for what they went through raising you?

Oh my, MKP, I hadn't even thought about the grandchildren aspect. The worrying is never going to stop!

(But we wouldn't have it any other way).

[gabosaurus]

Thanks a lot. Such tremendous worry and fear to look forward to!

[SassyLady]

Thanks a lot. Such tremendous worry and fear to look forward to!

Makes you want to work harder to make sure the world is a good, safe place for them to inherit, doesn't it!

There is a fundamental difference that happens to one's perspective of the world after they have children.......especially when they see themselves reflected in their children's ideas and behaviors, both the positive and negative.

[gabosaurus]

I lost a large amount of my previous friends after we adopted our daughter. I was on another message point for almost 10 years, beginning when I was 15. I grew up with many of those girls, if only in cyberspace.
But after the adoption, my life (and my posts) became centered around my daughter. The others, perhaps 90 percent single and almost 100 percent childless, didn't understand why I stopped writing about music, shopping and relationship problems. They didn't want to hear about my kid. Which is why I had to leave.
It was also the end of my era of political activism. I no longer had time for speeches, protest marches and endless reading of literature. Members who go back to the previous incarnation of DP might remember a far more militant version of me.

It is different. I have a lot less time to worry about what Congress is doing or who is elected to office in Iowa or Kentucky.
Instead, my time is split between being an employee, wife and parent. I worry about keeping kids in school, tracking my husband's medical treatments and organizing piano lessons, fencing tournaments and school homework.

And it is much more fun and more rewarding than anything I have ever done.

[SassyLady]

I lost a large amount of my previous friends after we adopted our daughter. I was on another message point for almost 10 years, beginning when I was 15. I grew up with many of those girls, if only in cyberspace.
But after the adoption, my life (and my posts) became centered around my daughter. The others, perhaps 90 percent single and almost 100 percent childless, didn't understand why I stopped writing about music, shopping and relationship problems. They didn't want to hear about my kid. Which is why I had to leave.
It was also the end of my era of political activism. I no longer had time for speeches, protest marches and endless reading of literature. Members who go back to the previous incarnation of DP might remember a far more militant version of me.

It is different. I have a lot less time to worry about what Congress is doing or who is elected to office in Iowa or Kentucky.
Instead, my time is split between being an employee, wife and parent. I worry about keeping kids in school, tracking my husband's medical treatments and organizing piano lessons, fencing tournaments and school homework.

And it is much more fun and more rewarding than anything I have ever done.

Gabby, congratulations on knowing where your focus needs to be. The experience you gain raising your own child can only enhance the work you do with the at risk kids.

[glockmail]

So you're finally realizing that taking personal responsibility is meaningful.