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Parenting full of ups and downs
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Published: May 14, 2009
I've always loved the analogy. And it's been true for my boys. A few months before a birthday is approaching, we start going downhill, only to find ourselves back on level ground a few weeks after the balloons have popped.
Of course, the complication is that no two children climb the same mountain, so parents often find themselves experiencing life's highs and lows simultaneously.
Right now, though, we're in the rare place of having both boys flying high. I've been noticing for the last month or so how ... easy ... life as a mom has been lately.
It has been so wonderful not to have "No" and "Stop" as regular parts of my vocabulary. There's been less whining (most of the time) and far less sibling rivalry. The other weekend, they actually woke up and played in Josh's room together for almost an hour, without a single "No! It's mine!" floating down the stairs.
The boys' cooperative attitudes have been contagious. Instead of grumpy old mom dragging everybody through yet another afternoon, I've found myself wanting to carve out more time for fun with them. The car rides home from school have turned into a time to laugh about silly things that happened that day, rather than a chance to see how many times you can pinch your brother before he cries.
I know this phase will pass, and we'll be back in the valley again. But so often, I think we focus on how hard parenting is — and it can be very hard — and overlook the blissful moments when it isn't.
The next birthday is six months away, so we've still got a little more time to enjoy the view from the top.
E-mail Amy Fuhrman at afuhrman@navigatethelake.com.
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