Sunday, November 29, 2009

Child Rearing

I love my grandkids dearly but sometimes
their noisiness drives me a little nutty.
So it's always a sense of relief, when it's
time to head home to our retirement nest.

I know why young couples have children.
By the time you reach my age, you are out
of patience to deal with the daily discipline
required to reach today's modern children.

I'm happy just to visit, read stories and listen,
while I leave it up to my son and dg-in-law to
discipline, train and deal with the day to day
problems; love and patience are required.

It's not easy being a parent, I know because
I parented for 35 years, sometimes patiently
and sometimes frustrated, especially during
their teen years. Now it's my time to watch.

As I see some of my grand children approaching
their teen years, it's a time of turmoil and self
questioning as each child tries to find their place.
All I can do is love each of them unconditionally.

(Photos from baby shower; girl baby is Rachel's niece
Lizzie in pink, and Elijah-a friend's boy baby in blue;
expectant couple is my son Jeff and his wife Rachel.)

5 comments:

  1. What a great set of photos. Sounds like a great time. I know what you mean about noise. Maybe that's why I had one child and taught her to read at an early age!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a lovely set of photos...it's true..you don't have the patience, but a lot more wisdom....Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it's a combination of factors...kids are so different now and the world [and technology] bombards us with noise. But I hear ya...it's always nice to return to your own space.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely, Lin! I agree with you. Parenting is exhausting and I'm happy to leave it to my daughter now. I'd like to see my son have a son just so I can see how he handles every difficult situation. Now that should be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sometimes i wonder if my mom-in-law is getting enough space or not ?Every morning after my daughter leaves for school ,i take my cup of tea and my son to the kitchen and leave Chandan and Ma alone so that they can talk and i encourage her to go out with her friends or to invite them if she wants.I have only two kids ... they are not very hard to manage(haaaaa...most of the times).

    ReplyDelete