How did I get here? A quiz!

Guest post by Jenna

Do you ever wonder in parenting, “How did I get here?” [Not How you got to be a parent, we all know THAT part.]

There are times in parenting, good or bad, when your life goes on and you suddenly realize:
A. I’m really enjoying this! The next stage must be even better!
B. I’m really enjoying this! I want to stop here for awhile.
C. I am really NOT enjoying this. I’m ready for the next stage. OR
D. I am really NOT enjoying this. At all.

If you answered D –
Repeat this to yourself:  “This, too, shall pass.” Whether good or bad, up or down, in or out, backwards or forwards, it will pass. Whatever your child is doing to make you want to pull your hair out, take a deep breath and say, “They won’t be _____ (little, full of tantrums, throwing/biting/hitting/

otherwise bugging the poo out of you) for long.” And believe me, I’m in a stage I don’t enjoy with one of my children right now, so I have to say this to myself almost daily. My advice to myself is to be consistent and Really strive to understand what this child is saying to me right now. Advice is free; take it or leave it.

If you answered C –
You have already mastered the technique in Answer D. Congrats! You are the eternal optimist. And, you are right – the next stage will undoubtedly be better. Or not. My old pastor used to say, “You’re either in the midst of a trial, you’ve just come out of a trial, or Look out! You’re going to be in a trial very soon.” Let’s pray that you’ll be coming out of that trial as soon as we can sing “she’ll be comin’ round the mountain.”

If you answered B –
I’d like to watch you stop time, please! There are things about the stage I’m in that I absolutely love and wouldn’t trade for the world. But I’m trying not to think about how much life is fleeting and how quickly what I’m enjoying will be over. Time marches on, my friend. And hopefully we grow as we march. HUP, two, three, four!

If you answered A –
Why are you reading this? Please go and encourage another parent who desperately needs help coming out of answers B, C or D. But, you’re right – sometimes I feel as if every stage of parenting is my favorite, that I haven’t hit a “bad” stage yet. But how quickly I’ve forgotten how much I struggled as a brand-new mom… how much of an adjustment I had to make to stay-at-home rather than work and how hard breastfeeding was for me at first. [so much so that I cried when I watched Pam of The Office having a hard time establishing her latch and feeding positions…]  BUT – things got better! And then they got even better.. and then I got pregnant again! And again!

I do encourage you to sit down and take inventory – either in a journal or on a blog or even just an email to yourself. How am I doing as a parent? How can I change my behavior so that my child’s behavior will change? Just exactly how DID you get to this stage of parenting? And I’d love to read your questions and answers too.

jenna enjoys asking rhetorical questions and embedding song titles in her blog posts. She also blog-sings, by request, at kevinandjenna [dot] com.

5 Responses to How did I get here? A quiz!
  1. Hannah
    March 20, 2010 | 10:35 pm

    I love that you mentioned, albeit parenthetically, that Office episode. Watching P&J struggle to adjust to their brand new life as parents, and Pam swing between new-mom hormones/frustration/anxiety and new-mom bliss brought back so many memories for me. I think I’ve experienced all of A,B,C and D over the years!

  2. jenna
    March 22, 2010 | 3:09 pm

    I so agree, Hannah! I loved how realistic they were while still being comical. And yes, I’ve experienced A-D as well. 🙂 Thanks for your comment.

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