It Starts with Labor

Motherhood: If it were going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor. Barbara Johnson

How true is that? Whether that labor is the physical toil of pushing a child out of your body or the emotionally draining work of home studies, background checks and an every shrinking band account, parenting starts with labor.

And it doesn't end when the child is born or arrives home. The work is just beginning. But remember this: Parenting isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. (Was James Dobson the one who said that?) We're told that we should read to our children, make the most of teachable moments, let them help with cooking and housework, check their homework, monitor their screen time, provide educational experiences, eat together as a family, take family vacations, keep scrapbooks or journals, attend PTO meetings, open houses, orientations and parent teacher conferences--or better yet, home school. And the list goes on. Thing is, you can't do all those things in the same day. So don't try. Do one thing. Just one. (I'm going to talk about doing one thing many more times on this blog!) That one thing a day adds up to 365 a year. So finger paint today and read a picture book tomorrow. 

(See what we read HERE) Go to a museum or botanical gardens today and start reading a classic aloud tomorrow. If you try to do it all at once, you'll go crazy. It's a short drive/walk for many of us.

So hang in there. And just do one thing today. What will it be?