Parenting- My favorite journey

Like most of the things in my life, I was absolutely clueless about Parenting and the only input I had was from my sister in law was it is going to be divine. 14 years and 2 children later divine is not exactly what I would summarize it with, but if there is any experience which comes closer to divinity it's parenting.

People have their own experience with parenting. Some embrace it others not so much. I have become a much better person as a parent. Parenting has focused me, had made me choose between what important to me and what is not and has also helped me often test my mettle. 

In my parenting journey, my parents were not the only role models neither were they the strongest influence. My strongest influence on parenting is my sister. She has been my rock. My husband comes next. He is an epitome of patience and a much better parent than I am. My friends Ruchi and Jyotika follow that list. I did not just learn parenting from these people. I learnt life lessons in my journey of a parent.

However, I would fail if I do not thank social media for its new parenting Gyan. Every time something about parenting popped up on my screen, it made me revisit my parenting, my way of dealing with children.

Some of the Gyan that I still carry with me is

1. -         Talk to your children and ensure they talk to you.
2. -         Be open and honest
3. -         Tell your children it is okay to make mistake as long as it is not a choice they are making
4. -         Kids are not your property. You are only responsible to ensure that they become responsible adults.
5. -         Kids may still be unhappy even if you give them your best and that is okay.
6. -         Kids need more love when they are most difficult.
7. -         Kids will surprise you. Do not expect them to respond as per your expectation. Let them know and they very often do better. 
8. -         Most importantly, you are as old a parent as your children. Do not underestimate this. You are not supposed to know everything.

My kids are the reason I live today. This may sound very cliché but I am a better person because of them. Even on days, I feel it is most difficult to be a parent, they surprise me with their calm attitude and love.

Parenting journey has proved to be the most enriching journey and yet scary. As a parent one is responsible for another life, and any decision that I take affect their future. That decision to ensure that the young one is safe and grows responsibly is very exacting. Soon I realized I cannot be scared all the time and with that realization developed the confidence of making decisions. Just one of the perks of being a parent.

The reason for writing this piece on Parenting is that it is a journey like none other. I don’t think I am ever going to stop being a parent.  But there is another interesting aspect of this. The lessons that I learn en route parenting, I also apply them to other aspects of my life, as a professional, as a friend, as a daughter, etc.

My give away from this write up is, no life journey should be looked at in isolation. One will affect the other and enrich it manifolds. Be ready for your life to grow.