Tour of Duty

After the kids are grown, you reclaim a bit of yourself that gets buried in the parenting. That final stretch where the kids are trying to assert themselves is pretty brutal. A good friend of mine referred to each child as a tour of duty. I couldn’t have summed it up better. Each child is a separate battle, the logistics, playing field, tactics, it is all in there. There is a toll you pay getting them to adulthood.

On paper it sounds good, game plan is all set out and your approach depends on the circumstances. Secret attack, guns blazing erring on the side of caution, scouting the perimeter, I mean I know you are raising angels. Bless the raisers of angels. If you have zero challenges, like absolutely at no time had to count to ten or complain, that’s great!In hindsight my crew was not horrible, certainly not perfect and beyond better than I was. My momma calls me angel, sometimes.

For those that are still in the throes of battle, I feel for you. It is stressful, it is lonely and thankless. No harder job out there without pay. I suppose the pay is there, but it is held until they are grown and they finally get it. I hope your battle is swift and you come out the other side unharmed and not too unhinged.