Parenting is tough and we all have our fair share of screw-ups. Normally I would start with a funny story about how my child nearly died when I turned my back for like a sec, but I won’t do that because I’m pretty sure CPS will be knocking on my door if I go and blab about the worst of my parenting stories. Ha! Insert nervous laughter.
Anyway, I had an incident today with Little Bit #1 that scared the pants off me and my post-childbirth pelvic muscles may or may not have failed me. If you know what I mean. But she’s fine and that’s all that matters.
I was freaking out and beating myself up about letting something like that happen, but I finally came to be at peace with it and here’s how.
I realized that I have to forgive myself as a parent. I’m not perfect, we all make mistakes. It’s only human. It just so happens that when I make a mistake in this job, the most precious thing in the world to me suffers. Oops.
Near-misses aren’t all bad, though. They keep you on your toes. I personally tend to get lazy in my parenting. The two year old wandered upstairs by herself and I haven’t heard from her in ten minutes? No biggie. I turn around and she has one of my sharpest kitchen knives in her hands? It’s fine. (Just kidding, I took it away and moved it out of reach.) But after this last event, I might be a touch more alert about what’s going on around me, and maybe that will help me keep the next terrible thing from actually happening. Because next time, maybe I won’t get so lucky and have it all turn out fine. The only thing to do is move forward and take action. Learn from it, and figure out how to make sure it won’t happen again.
But most importantly, I have to remember that God is sovereign and he won’t take my children from me unless it is absolutely their time. My human self can only do so much to protect them, but He holds the world in His hands. Trusting that he has my babies too is the only way I can keep my sanity in a world filled with all things horrific.
…And I’ll try to keep a closer eye on my kids. Yeah.
Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash
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Melinda worked with children for years in a professional setting before becoming a full-time stay at home mom. She currently has three young children, and enjoys sharing tips and ideas about parenting and how to manage a home with excellence. She’s been featured on Heathline and Her View From Home.
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