The Parent Thread

[The Atheist]

I don't know whether this has been tried before and I'm too lazy to check, but I wanted to make a comment, as I'm often wont to do, & thought we could have a thread to discuss parenting things!

We often get frustrated beyond belief by kids, and there are times when I'd gladly build a time machine and go back to when I was 18 and have a vasectomy. Many are the times I've sat with my finger on a for sale listing at eBay with a $1 reserve for the pair of them.

On the other hand, there are times when your chest wants to swell into explosion mode, and from my own perspective, I don't mean times when they score 100% in a test, or run 100m in 8.3 seconds, as gratifying as they are.

I mean those times when all of our efforts as parents seem not to be in vain. The traits we really care about - and I'm not denigrating those whose greatest pride would be in the 8.3 sec 100m - I'm just not that way inclined. During the past two weeks, we've had my 10 yo daughter in hospital with suspected (but not) appendicitis, my 8.5 month pregnant wife sick with a virus, the girl's birthday and several other hectic events, all this taking place against the constant backdrop of work, school and life.

The way the kids have stood up and done their share and displayed the type of behaviour we've tried so hard to encourage - caring, sharing, self-confidence and all that other 21st century baloney - does make me so proud to be a parent that I wonder at how I could ever feel differently.

Kids; love 'em or hate 'em, they're ours.

:D

[Helga]

this thread is a good idea... I have one son, my perfect little angel who can drive me insane. I can honestly say that I don't want to live without him but I don't want another one! it takes a lot of work to raise a kid.

Atheist, I'm sorry to hear your wife has been sick, I hope everything will work out!
I was sick during my whole pregnancy, was in a hospital 2 because I had an infection the whole time and I needed nutrition cause I got sick from everything I tried to eat and the week before my son was born I was in a hospital with meningitis.

my boy is 3 years old and he is definitely Mommy's boy, I can't go to the bathroom or take a shower without him. but he also the funniest kid I know and the sweetest, he is so sweet to his 6 month old nephew and finds him toys to keep him happy.

[Stargazer86]

pains in the asses though they are...

I met my boyfriend when I had just turned 20 (he was 29) and he had a 3 year old son. I'm now 23 with the same boyfriend, a 6 year old boy, and the baby and have acquired many grey hairs in the past few years. I've aged a lot in a short amount of time. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

I love watching thier joy at the littlest things. The day B (6 yr old) finally just clicked with reading all day after months of me working very diligently with him, the smiles at Christmas and Easter, taking them to the zoo, and to the library is so rewarding. Watching little ones grow up on a day to day basis is mind blowing.

Sometimes I want to run away. It's too much. No sleep, too much stress, and saying goodbye to my friends who didn't have kids was really hard. I still see them from time to time. But it's not the same. My life changed overnight 3 years ago when I assumed partial responsibility for a young child who was not mine whose mother had left him a year before. And he is a huge part of my world. I could not imagine life without him even if his dad and I don't work out in the future.

B is hilarious..he makes me laugh. Such a smart kid. I'm so proud of him!
And my little girl...what an angel. No one can melt my heart like she does when she laughs and smiles (in between the colic and the teething)

Athiest- I do hope your wife and daughter are feeling better. Congrats on expecting a new one! Boy or girl? Do you have a name picked out?
All the best to your family.
Where stress doesn't end up breaking you, it definately pulls you together once you've pulled through it

[The Atheist]

Athiest- I do hope your wife and daughter are feeling better. Congrats on expecting a new one! Boy or girl? Do you have a name picked out?
All the best to your family.
Where stress doesn't end up breaking you, it definately pulls you together once you've pulled through it

Thanks - both of them are fine, and Mrs Atheist was just a common cold, so she's good after a few hot teas.

The n00b is about to be a boy, and no, we're struggling with names, so we don't have much time left.