I always heard people say “being a parent is hard work” but I never understood it until my girls came along. As parents, my husband and I have faced each challenge with as much grace and patience as possible and sometimes we succeed and most times we fail, at least it feels as if we fail more often than we succeed. Nevertheless, we wake up every day ready to do it all over again. I have been able to handle school drop-offs and pickups, all their appointments, and after school activities. Somedays I felt more like their chauffeur than their parent. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would become their homeschool teacher. I always believed I was never programmed with enough patience to tolerate educating my daughters from home. And yet, here I am homeschooling. Even though we have managed to finish our school work early every week, I would be lying if I didn’t say it hasn’t been challenging and overwhelming most times. I would also be lying if I didn’t tell you that at least once a week one or both my girls cry because either they don’t understand the assignment or I’m doing a poor job of explaining it which leads to frustration and me walking away feeling defeated and beating myself up as the bad parent. If you or someone you know can relate, my heart goes out to you.
Every day I remind myself of the things I am grateful for. For example, I am grateful for my extra time with my girls even though we argue during some of it, and sometimes I feel more as their assistant maintaining all their online teacher meetings than I am their parent. I am grateful for the ability to go on more hikes and bike rides since those are the only outdoor activities we can accomplish at the moment. I am grateful for movie times with ice cream and cuddles. I am grateful for being forced to be more creative in different ways to keep my girls active and challenged whether it’s through building puzzles and LEGOs, long walks, or even running up and down the stairs ten times to release pinned up energy during a snow storm. And I am grateful for the extra time we spend together reading our Bibles, this is something we didn’t get to do as much before.
I know I am not alone in this but it sure feels lonely at times especially during the quarantine. I pray that you find encouragement in knowing that we are all struggling together one way or another.
I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Mother’s Day!
