You don’t necessarily realize it while it’s happening, but there is this all-too-brief window when we get to decide exactly who our children are. We subconsciously assign them personalities, interests, and even certain skill sets depending on what we think we see in them, and then we shout these qualities from the rooftops! It is all well-intended, of course, but maybe we are seeing things that aren’t there. Maybe we are trying too hard to cram our little humans into molds that just might not fit. The simple fact is, there comes a time when we are forced to stop telling our kids who they are, and instead have to bite our tongues, hold our breath, and just WATCH THEM BE.
And you know what? It’s all kinds of wonderful. The reality of Parker and Bailey just blows any expectations and hopes I had for them to smithereens. These kids aren’t “mini-mes” or the result of some intentional and kickass parenting process. I wished for them, created them, grew them, and I continue to nurture them with all my might, but it is all so that they can be who their own little hearts and guts tell them to be. It’s a marvel, though admittedly difficult for my control-freak self to fully accept. Parker and Bailey, I LOVE WHO YOU ARE so much more than who I thought I wanted you to be.
(So maybe it’s time I get a new puppy? You can train the heck out of those.)
