In an office conversation today someone said that their nine month old baby was boring. Wow! On impulse I said that I would gladly give up one year of my life in exchange for one more hour to hold my infant children again. After thinking about it, I would do that even if that hour included several diaper changes.
I’m not sure I felt that way when my children were young. I know I had my moments of frustration in the course of learning to be a good father. There were times I lost my temper. Therefore, we need to be careful in criticizing parents of young children. I know that, even now, parenting is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and it is the most important thing my wife and I will ever do in our time on this planet. Nothing else we do will effect as many people as deeply and dramatically as what we do as parents.
Parenting is hard but to the new parents, a word of observation. There will come a day when you will wish that you could give everything you own for one more hour with your children and your wife. Enjoy them while you got them.
aloha
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How right you are, Smittie. I don’t have kids, but as I’ve gotten older I try to remind myself of the sentiment here. As crazy as some might drive you, at some point in the future you might very well long for those moments to return.