What did you imagine that parenthood would be like before you had children?
Chances are you focused on the endlessly good parts. The parts where your child would look up at you adoringly, as if you were the only thing in the world that matters. The parts where they come home with a good report card, glowing with their own achievement as you praise them to the hills. The hugs, the kisses, the companionship, the sharing your life lessons with them so they can be aware too.
You might have had the occasional moments when you thought about the potential downsides, too. You may have worried about the cost of raising a child, an amount that just seems to keep going up every year. You might have thought back to your own teenage years and the tantrums you made your own parents suffer through, wondering how you would cope when it was your turn to be on the receiving end. We all go through phases where we wonder if we will have what it takes to be parents, before we realize – much like the cowardly lion – that we had the courage all along.
What all parents come to learn, however, is that there are things you just never would have expected. They’re so bizarre, seemingly utterly unrelated to child-rearing, that you wouldn’t have believed someone even if they had gone out of their way to warn you of it. Any of these sound familiar?
- Nothing Lasts In Your Home Anymore
Who’d have thought that having kids meant you were going to be taking on more home DIY than you ever thought possible?
Your house just seems to wear down faster than you ever could have imagined that it would. It seems only moments pass before you’re heading out for more flooring supplies to fix up the chips in the floor, dusting off your paintbrushes to cover up the latest round of sticky fingerprints – it’s an ever-changing situation that you never seem to quite manage to get to grips with!
Kids like to run around, which means kids inevitably crash into things. You can try and reason with them to be more careful when they get older, but… well… how well did you listen to that kind of comment when you were a kid?!
- You’ve Discovered You’re An Octopus
No, not in an Octomom way, but an octopus in metaphorical terms. You have brought a whole new meaning to the idea of multitasking. You can be washing dishes, checking over homework, and ironing school uniform – all while answering the latest enquiry from your child about how the world works.
And to think, you used to think that a busy day meant when you had a meeting after work before going out for a drink with friends. How little you knew!
- Everything Is Dangerous
Moms have an overprotective instinct that is tough to shake. You swore you wouldn’t be one of those parents who questions the nutritional integrity of every bit of food their cubs consume, but now you are. You have no shame in vetting friends before you allow playdates and you give the same “stranger danger” speech that you heard. It’s all worth it for the sake of your kids!
