If only we knew then what we know now

This week I've been enjoying a great group text with some mom friends about our latest parenting woes. We all have little ones around the same age and we're all working moms (working moms unite!!!) Thank goodness we have each other to vent to, because most days I can go to work without incident, but on the days when I am angry and sad that I spend my weekdays in an office, I take comfort in knowing I'm not the only one.  (My misery loves company - so sue me!) It's hard to watch our sweet children cry when they have to leave their dear babysitters.  It's hard to know that someone else is getting their "good" hours, while we are getting their "cranky, it's-almost-bedtime" hours. It's hard, it's hard, it's hard.

As you go through life, you hear people say that parenting is hard, and you believe them - no doubt.  But you don't quite know the specifics until you're crying at work about someone else raising your child, or you're wondering if you should wake them up to brush their teeth because how many missed brushings equals a cavity?  It's kind of like childbirth.  Sure, it's going to hurt - but specifically, HOW will it hurt?

One of the funniest things to realize is that what troubles us now will be a scalp massage compared to the riff-raff that lies ahead in the tween years.  Yes, it's been hard to teach Maxwell to not throw his food at me.  But I assume it will be harder to teach him that life isn't fair and sometimes the kid who promises to install new pop machines will win the job of Student Body President (true story).

But one of the saddest things to realize is that it takes way too long to understand how much your own parents love you.  Maybe that's not the case for everyone, but I think its safe to assume that many new parents have a guilty stomachache every now and then when they think about how many "thank yous" and "i love yous" they owe their parents.  My entire Christmas gift to my dad last year was a letter about how thankful I was for his sacrifices and I totally get it now but still, I AM JUST NOW GETTING IT.  Luckily my dad is an emotional fella so I don't think he felt all that jipped that his present was just a piece of paper.

If only we knew THEN what we know NOW!