By Ginger Danz
Recently a friend commented that she had never imagined herself sounding so annoyed and exasperated with her husband and kids. It seems many parents ask themselves “what happened to the easy going person I used to be?” The truth is that parenting is a challenging job, and it is much harder than it looks. It can be easy to lose track of what is most important to you as a parent. Ask yourself the following questions to get yourself back to your parenting “center:”
What compelled you to become a parent in the first place?
This is an important one because most of us anticipated the tender joys of parenthood but may get bogged down by the daily realities of the experience.
What are your favorite parts of being a parent?
Again, it is tempting to dwell on the challenges and lose sight of the many rewards.
What are your strengths as a parent?
Many of us beat ourselves up for mistakes we've made or things we aren't doing well. But we ALL have some parenting strengths, so acknowledge yours and build on them.
Post your answers in a prominent place and spend some quality time discussing them with your partner or a friend. Parenting really is all about the journey, so remember to enjoy the ride!
