No Manuals

I think one of the hardest things I’ve had to realize as we have spiraled into the teen years is that there are no manuals on how to get through parenting. Not really. There are opinions. So, many, stinking opinions. But there is not a step by step manual that shows us how to get through any of this without causing trauma.

I like to think that I’m not doing that. much harm and that I’m doing everything I can to make sure my child is happy and healthy, but the truth is that we won’t know until they’re grown how good of a job we did. Did we push too hard or not hard enough? Did we let them get away with too much independence or did we hold too tightly on them so that they have no sense of self?

I can’t tell if this is something I’m really worried about or something you think I should be worried about. - My Child

In all of this it can feel overwhelming, but I’m learning to laugh more than anything else and to roll with the punches. There’s not a manual for these kids either, and they are rocketing straight into puberty with a rocket of hormones strapped to them. The only thing any of us can do at this point is laugh at the absurdity of it all. The one thing I don’t want from my child is to lose their sense of joy and wonder. I don’t want them to become hypercritical of the world through a jaded lens.

They need to be proud of themselves, they need to feel loved. I know I sound like some sappy hippie dippy mom, and maybe that is what I’ve become in this moment of my life. I don’t know. All of these thoughts are absolutely my own crazy opinions, and I’m sure I’m writing into the void. That’s okay too.