Parenting is NOT always fun

Okay, at least one or two people are going to be highly offended by my first post after my little moving hiatus.  Prepare yourself and pucker up because it's about to get very, very real.

At what point in time did we start deciding that being a parent is supposed to be all-fun, all-convenience, all-easy all of the time?  I listen to parents talk about how they "need" a vacation from their kids every couple of months and it makes me wonder when we started this.  I can't remember my parents taking quarterly weeks away from us just to "get some space" and I certainly know my grandparents didn't do it.  Nights out?  Sure.  Weekends?  Once in a while, okay.  When you sign on to become a parent, though, you make the commitment to put some of that aside.

Another frequently heard phrase is that "I can't wait until I'm done raising them."  While I understand that most people are just referring to when they turn 18 and don't LEGALLY need them anymore.  Here's the reality.... even when your kids are grown, you're still their parents.  You don't sign on for 18 years; you sign on for life.  You may not need to financially support them or change their diapers but they're still going to need your emotional support and want your cheers of joy for their accomplishments.  Parenting doesn't end at 18....it just doesn't.

Perhaps my least favorite, though, is the concept that parenting is supposed to be some sort of fun time....like waiting until a certain age or financial status or anything else will make someone have a more fun experience.  Look, newborns cry...and it's not fun.  Do they have a lot of great things about them?  Yes.  Is it always fun?  No.  Toddlers and three year olds throw tantrums.  Are they fun?  NOPE.  After that, it's attitude, I want, and teen tantrums.  Are they fun?  Of course not.  Do you love your kids? Yes.  Do you have great times with them?  Yes.  Would you trade them for anything?  Of course not.  With that being said, parenting is an exhausting, all-go-no-play, self-sacrificing, always changing all-day-every-day experience when it's done correctly.  Is it rewarding?  Of course.  Is it fun?  Not all of the time, no.  Anyone that says that it is, in my opinion, is lying or has never lived it.

Perhaps if there were less "I need a vacation quarterly" parents, there would be far less entitled, schmucky kids that feel like they deserve $15/hour when they're 16 years old flipping burgers.  Maybe there would be less bullying because kids would be brought up to realize that humility is an important trait and caring for others is important.  Maybe, just maybe, there would be fewer teenagers thinking that being a parent is a fun thing to try out at their age and they'd realize that it's truly hard work.  Maybe being real about parenting would make people think twice about their behavior.  Then again, maybe not.  People can disregard this as my opinion is just that.  If it plants a seed of thought in one person's head, though, it might be worth it.