How Parenting Makes us Grow

From the outside looking in, it's hard for anyone to imagine why one would ever want to have children.  You look at this world that now encompasses a new parent and their novel lifestyle, and it becomes confusing and difficult for one to grasp the beauty in the chaos. How does one identify the lust for a messy home, the desire to battle a miniature sized lawyer every day, and the want to live by one never-ending to-do list to the next? The answer is simple: you don't.

You don't dream of those things that become a major part of your life, and you certainly don't think twice about it. In fact, it's not something you think about until you sit down and think. Think about what a parent is really all about, about what your day is like, and what your home is full of. You see, those things that I listed above don't matter, and they never will. Not today, not tomorrow, and certainly not 20 years from now. Those things are a part of your life, but they are not, and never will be your life and what you live for. Twenty years from now, all I will care about is that I was able to build strong relationships with my children and I was able to give them the essential tools in being independent, giving, and strong. And that we had some amazing laughs along the way.

But where did our journey begin, and why did our journey begin? I've thought about that you know. About what lead us to that ultimate decision to start a life? A new life.

I think back when I had this idea of being ready to become a parent. Surprisingly though, I'm not sure that I ever was ready. You see, I had plenty of experience with my nephew for a couple of years prior to having Elliana. I watched him frequently, I spoiled him with gifts {and ridiculous amounts of kisses}, and I took thousands of pictures of him and showed him off to everyone I knew. In fact, there were times that I would accidentally say "Give mommy kisses!" and then hope no one ever heard me. It was an honest accident. I was that aunt, and rightfully so {first baby in the family!} But, I was always ready to give him back. I much preferred the ability to sleep in, to go as I pleased, and to not be tied down with this large responsibility throughout the day {every day}. To have the luxury of getting my baby fix without the permanency of it all.

Then you have your baby, you experience that amazing words-cannot-describe birth of your child, and something in your head changes, something clicks, and you feel more alive than you ever have before. I felt this part of me inside that wanted to be better----better person. Watching your child grow is a powerful thing, no doubt, but watching yourself grow and change in ways you may have never even imagined, is simply dynamic.

To want to get up at the crack of dawn to catch your baby sleeping.
To want to be woken up in the middle of the night to rock them, sing to them, and kiss on their toes.
To want to have this responsibility each and every day of creating a strong person to conquer this world.
To want to be tied down, spit on, and cried at, if that means you get to wake up to another day with this smiling face.

Vince Vaughn said it best in the movie, Delivery Man: "For the first time in my life... I'm doing the right thing." 

I am. I am doing the right thing. We are doing the right thing. We may not be perfect, and we definitely have no desire to be, but we sure are doing it right.

Sometimes it is chaos, and a lot of times we may seem to be overwhelmed, but I hope that when one looks at our world from the outside they see the beauty behind it all. That while it's amazing to watch a child grow, it's even more powerful to watch an adult learn things from someone who doesn't even yet have the power to speak. Those are the greatest teachers out there, and they're teaching me every day to love life a little bit more and to actually live it every day.

 "It may be a bit strange... a bit over sized, but it's my life."- Vince Vaughn, in Delivery Man.

And if you want to laugh and be inspired even more by this parenting gig, then I suggest getting Delivery Man to watch, and to watch it "533" times {that's how many babies Vince Vaughn fathered in the movie}. The Rallis Review describes this movie as "Hilarious and Heartfelt" and I wouldn't have a doubt about it. That's exactly how I would describe parenting in itself.

Bring home this movie on March 25, or order now here.

GIVEAWAY:

For a chance to win $100 Visa gift card, answer this:

"Tell us how your kids have changed you for the better."

Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 3/20/14 – 4/17/14. Be sure to visit the Delivery Man page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!