Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Nobody comes with a rule book

As I mentioned yesterday, I talk about everything on this blog. Not just books or music, but everything in between. Today, I'm going to discuss being a parent. That's right, the subject of being a Mom.

Nobody ever says the good, the bad, and the ugly of parenthood. I think people who don't have children often see other kids and think "Awe, aren't they cute?" This is the phrase that's said about a hundred times when the children are young. As the child gets older, everyone then says.. "They are just growing up too fast!" These have to be the two most common phrases said to every mother every where. What you don't see is all the in-between. That child you just told was so cute, might have just stopped screaming in the store because the mother finally gave in for the child to hold that toy the kid was screaming about, or the "growing up so fast" comment comes from when the mother finally gets the child to actually look at the camera and after the fifth shot, she gives up and finally just picks one to share.

There's probably over a thousand self-help books out there on raising a child, anywhere from what to expect when you're expecting to what to except their first year. Then after that you can find books on behavior issues, growing, you name it books, they are out there. Nobody can tell you how to raise your child though, this comes from what I would like to call trial and error. That's right, you try and you have an error so you keep trying other things. As the children grow older you find yourself thinking, how did we get here, and hey, they are still alive, so that's a bonus in the win column.

Every day there is going to be a struggle some harder than others. This can range from an argument over telling your child to please get their shoes on for over thirty minutes as they refuse to look for them, or from a complete meltdown because they can't get their hair just right. Being a parent is literally the hardest and best job I've ever had. Even with all the arguments, the hugs make up for that every single day. There is times where I think, "Oh my god, I didn't even know what I'm doing?" To days where I feel I have it all going on. But the point of all this is, it's life. I am a firm believer in fate and that our lives are often a journey and we make it what we want. This is the life I have chosen. My children will grow up one day and I know that I will look back and think... How did this happen? I also look forward to the day where my children are adults and I can see how they are making their way through this journey we call life.

My children and my past as a child is what drove me to write the books I write. There was a way for me to tell them my story as a kid who grew up and became their mother, but also show them that you can do anything in this life. Hopefully, I'm raising my daughters to see that sometimes from the bad can be good, and we can turn every day into a a new beginning. We have to find the balance of the good and evil within us. It may always be a battle, but I believe the good will always win. You may be struggling as a parent, and believe me, I go through that on a weekly basis, and you may even be wondering, "Am I doing this right?" and the answer is... Who knows? You just have to raise your children how you see fit and hope they turn out to be someone that they can love. That's what life is about... Loving and living life... Loving Life. On this day, I write this message because I do struggle from day to day on questioning my parenting skills... and all I know is that I'm just trying to raise them the best I can. That's all I can do. That's honestly the only thing anyone can do.

So remember this... Your story is what you make it. Will you be the one who rises to the top or let the world destroy the good in you?

-Dee King

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