- EVERYTHING YOU DO IN LIFE IS FOR SOMEONE ELSE – There’s a level of selflessness as soon as you become a parent. All of a sudden your life gets flipped upside down and priorities change, for the good. Their frustrations become your frustrations. Their joy becomes your joy. Their love becomes your love. Everything you do is for your child, even in your alone time, as you’re constantly setting an example for little watching eyes.
- YOUR CHILD GIVES YOU STRENGTH – There may be things that you weren’t strong enough to accomplish before or didn’t put forth your full effort in the past. Having a child helps give you the extra inner-drive you needed. Being the most sleep-deprived you’ve ever been in your life, you are also the most motivated you’ve ever been. Whether it’s choosing to go to college or to work harder for that promotion at work, the desire to have a comfortable life and be a positive role model for your little one grows rapidly. Plus, carrying your child around everywhere you go certainly helps your physical strength.
- YOU BEGIN TO SET GOALS AND CLEARLY SEE THE FUTURE – Whether you were always a planner or you were more of a go-with-the-flow type of person, when you have a child, seeing the future becomes clearer, easier, and full of happier envisions. When you think of the future, you see your child playing in the back yard or the park and all planning revolves around the happiness of your family. You see the love now, and in the future.
- YOUR WORST DAYS BECOME BETTER – Even on your worst days when the world seems to have turned its back on you, your child helps the light shine through to break up the darkness. Your children have a sense when you’re feeling off and always show their love whether they cheer you up with their goofiness or with their cuddles. It’s hard to be sad when you are hugging pure joy.
- YOU EXPERIENCE CHILDHOOD AGAIN – As you watch your child’s imagination and curiosity grow, you have an immediate connection as your own memories of youth are remembered. Watching children play, you wonder what’s going through their minds and think about what went through your mind as a child. As you play with your child, you feel the joy of being a kid again as you play hide-n-seek or have tickle wars with them. It truly is the little moments that turn into memories as you watch your child play with their toys and watch their imagination take them places.
- YOU START TO FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE – Before becoming a parent, there was a slew of things and/or people that didn’t serve an important role in your life, when it came down to it. Becoming a parent is exhausting, but the hard work is just as rewarding. You only have time for the important things in life now and start to understand that you don’t miss those people or things from the past that weren’t important in your life. It can be sad looking back at the past and thinking about who seemed to fade from friend into memory but the people who matter most are the ones who will always be there for you.
- YOU LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PATIENCE – Being a parent shows you how to communicate to someone who doesn’t understand as much as you and is in the process of learning the ins-and-outs of the world. According to Pop Sugar , kids ask about 288 questions per DAY! This can get frustrating answering a question every five minutes, but you learn to adapt and grown along with your child. Plus, some of the questions they ask are so adorable they brighten your day.
- YOU APPRECIATE YOUR PARENTS MORE – Raising a child shows you how difficult some things in parenting really are and by seeing this, you appreciate everything that your parents have done for you in your youth. You see the example they set for you and this helps guide you in your parenting journey. You begin to think about times that you aren’t proud of and regret making your parents go through those poor choice you’ve made. But you also think about times you’ve made them proud and can relate to their proud feelings as you watch your child grow.
- YOU LEARN HOW TO BE EFFICIENT WITH TIME – When you have a child, the rest of your responsibilities are still there, adding to all of the responsibilities of being a parent. With this said, you start prioritizing your time and learn to schedule things appropriately. With all of the appointments, errands, cleaning, and maintaining a consistent daily schedule for your child, it’s essential to find the right balance in all of these things. The most important part of finding the balance of time is learning to find time for yourself. This can be tricky with all of the chaos that is parenting, but you learn to find it.
- YOU LEARN TO LOVE LIKE YOU’VE NEVER FELT BEFORE – As cliché as it sounds, you truly don’t know what this level of love is until you’re a parent. It’s difficult to describe the feeling of seeing your child learn, grow, love, laugh, cry, frown, smile, and even throw a ridiculous temper tantrum…….it is all of these moments and memories that show you how blessed and proud you are to call them your child. When you become a parent, you feel the radiance of love unlike anything you’ve ever felt.
Post written by: Christine Gliko
Nailed it Christy. I especially like that you included the newfound appreciation a mother, or father, can have for their parents after having a child of their own. I’m constantly learning more about the big picture as a mom. It’s a never ending reward.
Kristi:
You are certainly your mothers daughter. Very well writen my dear.
You were blessed with wonderful parents who were blessed with your grandparents and so on and so forth. Live it, learn it, teach it. ??
I meant to say Love it , Learn it, Teach it. ?
Thoughtful and endearing. Thank you for sharing !