A Tear of Relief

I’m noticing I’m getting more and more emotional as I get older. Granted there’s a lot more responsibility on my plate, more family to love since I’m married and have three boys, seeing random acts of kindness really gets to me, and loosing a loved on or watching someone else grieve. With all that said I can tear up at the drop of a hat, but what gets me the most is seeing my boys happy and thriving which brings a tear of relief at each milestone.

Being a parent is 100 times harder than I ever imagined. My Farmer and I are responsible for our sons’ safety, their health, their hygiene, their social skills, their education, and the list goes on. We’ve also had a couple of health challenges (lazy eye & childhood anxiety), as well as personality challenges added to our list of responsibilities.

Our oldest sons 10th birthday!

I remember taking a sigh of relief after having our sons and that relief was completing our family without a major health hitch. My tears of relief come as we reach each milestone and they are all well and thriving. Those tears come at their birthdays, at teacher conferences, when they are nursed back to health after being sick, and the list goes on. The tears of relief are a release of emotion that “We did it!” We got them through that milestone or challenge and they’re still trucking on happy and healthy.

NO ONE could be harder on me about my parenting skills than I am, and I’m sure that’s true for a majority of parents. Do I have my faults . . . absolutely, because no parent is perfect, but my intentions are good and I want nothing more than to be the best Mom for our boys. I want to see them successful, happy, healthy, and in their adult lives keep a close relationship with their Dad and I. Reaching that goal is a rocky one, and one that brings a tear with every childhood milestone. Rest assured my tears will continue with every milestone they achieve for the rest of their lives. A Mom never stops being a Mom, in most cases of course.