Monday, January 5, 2015

Bursting Through the Parenting Bubble

Whew! The holidays are over and the kids are back in school, and now I have a moment to write.

This topic is one I've had in mind for a while now.

A little more than a month ago I was chatting with a coworker of mine after a baby had done some stealth spitting up in various locations throughout the nursery (just for context, I work part time at a YMCA nursery). I laughed as I told her of how vividly I still remember the day when I realized I no longer smelled like spit-up from my babies. As we laughed and she shared a similar story, she looked at me and said "I wonder if we all have these same experiences and just don't know it!?"

I know it seems like a simple question, but I thought this was quite profound. It's something I've often wondered myself.

In my experience as a stay-at-home mom, I felt like I was parenting in a bubble. I went to all the ECFE classes, and chatted with other moms about things going on with my kids, but largely felt alone and without a village, so to speak. Whether it was because we were all new moms and embarrassed to admit to small uncertainties or what perhaps felt like personal failures, other moms just didn't seem to share in these kinds of experiences when I would mention them at the time.

Now being on the other end of those very young years with my kids, I find myself giving assurances and advice to parents I meet through my job, and I've had a few thank me afterwards for making them feel like what they were going through is normal.

I don't necessarily have a solution for fixing this, but wouldn't it be nice if we knew we weren't alone?   Don't we all just want to know that our situations are normal, and tough, and we'll get through it? If anyone out there is feeling this way, just know that you aren't alone.

Happy New Year!