Hey, we don’t want to always make these parenting tips too serious and heavy! So for the next few weeks, they will have some humor to them, or at least some amusement as we think about the sometimes chaos-filled, up-and-down life phase that we call everyday parenting. Today, think about the pharmaceutical and drug ads you see and hear dozens of times each day and all the “side-effects” that they are legally required to warn us about:
Headaches, trouble sleeping, back pain, heartburn, anxiety, confusion and indigestion all come to mind….and additional side effects like “quick to overreact emotionally,” “voice changes,” “irritability,” and, best of all, “euphoria.”
Now instead of reading those as side-effects of drugs, read them as side-effects of parenting. They all apply, right? These things go with the territory of parenting–they are unavoidable, at least occasionally as we do our best to keep up with our kids.
The interesting part of the comparison is that we take the drugs we need in spite of the side-effects that may occur, because the net effect, and hopefully the cure, is better than the side-effects. We have kids and do our best to raise them despite the same side effects because the joy, the euphoria that comes to us as parents, even if it is just in little, occasional moments, outweighs all the side effects and create a net effect where the plusses totally supersede the minuses and we intentionally fill our lives with the messy chaos of kids, sometimes many kids who demand our attention, soak up our energy, and visit us with all kinds of unexpected “adventures” or consequences.
Side effects and all, “married with children” or even single with children is the best and most joyful way to live!
Let’s keep reminding ourselves of that, despite the ups and downs. For more on this: